


No, That's Not How It Works.

by minervamouze



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, I truly do not know what is happening, Semi AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2018-12-03 22:04:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 62,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11541348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minervamouze/pseuds/minervamouze
Summary: As determined as you are to avoid getting into a mess, a mess seems to find you anyway. All you ever wanted to do was finish your Senior Year on your Islands, stop having such creepy dreams, and maybe have a mild romance. Not be followed around by creepy shadows, creepier men in black coats, and be fighting to keep your heart. But, of course, life doesn't have to listen to what you want.





	1. The Beginning

Pure, stark, clean, white. That was all you could see. Every direction you turned, your vision never changed. You rubbed tirelessly at your eyes, but no matter how much you tried to blink, the bright nothingness drew on. 'Is this Heaven?' you wonder to yourself wordlessly, finally staying still, accepting your fate. That's when you first heard it. A voice, so soft you were unsure if you imagined it. You felt your brows furrow, listening more intently.

 

"The boy....here..."

 

You were able to make out bits and pieces of a sentence- just enough for you to know that there was someone there. Slowly but surely, your vision started to adjust, shapes coming into view. Still exceedingly bright, you were now able to make out what seemed to be large square pillars, stretching high. They were all connected in a round shape, encircling a mosaic floor. Gray and white sparkled, catching your eye.

 

While unintelligible whispers continued to conduct above you, you took the time to take a step forward, making a circuit around the mosaic. 'What is that?' you muse, staring intently at the strange design. It was almost a cross with barbed edges, save for the heart-like shape on one of the points.

 

"Who cares where he is?" A rough, clearly annoyed voice makes your head snap up and turn, looking for the body it belonged to. Your eyes were greeted with the sight of thirteen thrones- one atop each pure white pillar. Your eyebrow cocked, stepping back into the middle of the cross-like design as you took in the strange sight. Each pillar was a different height, and on each throne sat a hooded figure, every one looking more similar than the next. Black cloaks with chains surrounded you, all with only slight variations in design, their personalities showing clearly through how they held themselves. "The way I see it, no matter where this kid is, he's gonna keep being a good little lackey for us and not suspect one thing."

 

You note that the nearly bored sounding voice belonged to the cloaked figure draped over his chair, his legs sprawled unceremoniously over the arm on one side, his back resting against the other. As he spoke, he wove a hand around flippantly, as if he had no reason to make anyone believe he possessed even an inkling of want to be in that room.

 

"We care, VIII, because there are not heartless where he is. Not any longer. He's of no use to us if he's no longer wielding the keyblade." You snap your head around so fast, you almost stumble, trying to pinpoint the location of this new, wiser-and definitely more interested-sounding voice. It came from nearly exactly across from the first figure, from someone who was sat at their throne-like chair with more dignity, albeit their fingers were currently rubbing their temple as if they felt they should never have to explain this.

 

"Why don't we just tell Maleficent where he is and have her send the heartless over?" The figure sat next to the one who appeared to be nursing a migraine suggests nervously. 'Uhhhh,' you start to think to yourself. 'Maleficent....keyblade...heartless?' These words were definitely all made up, and everyone in this room was a total wack job. If their clothes hadn't tipped you off, the way they spoke was definitely the deciding factor. Wait for a second, how in the hell did they even get u-

 

"IV, why in the worlds would Maleficent be on our side?" The troubled man sighs once more. You had the feeling he was the mother figure of the group.

 

"She would have no reason to help us," a booming voice sounds. You turn your head to the pinnacle of the thrones, a very dignified form sat atop. "However, one of her mindless lackeys could be tipped off with little suspicion." There was almost a chuckle to his voice. "IX," he commanded, "take a trip to Neverland."

 

"I- bu- wh- ...yes, sir," The nervous voice whined momentarily, before sighing and accepting his fated mission. With a swipe of his hand, his seat transformed into a swirl of dark tendrils and he was gone.

'UM...' you internally screamed. "Alright, I'm getting out of this now, before someone notices I'm here. I've seen too many horror movies and I'm not abo-' Your internal monologue and step were halted. Mid march on the way to find anywhere to be but there, you noticed one of the figures on the ground...staring directly at you. Your blood ran cold, frozen to that spot in fear. The figures head tilted to the side in confusion, slowly bringing its hands up to their hood, delicate fingers sliding it down, exposing-

 

\----

 

You woke up panting for breath, bolted upright in your bed. Sweat was all but dripping down your face, soaking the nape of your neck and tangling your hair, sticking your pajama shirt-which was really nothing more than last years gym uniform-to your chest, and making you feel all over very uncomfortable. As you fought to calm your breathing, you fought to remember exactly what was said in your crazy dream. No, your crazy nightmare. "You know what? I don't care!" You threw your hand in the air, shaking your head. "I always have these weird ass dreams about some sketchy room," you complain to no one in general as you rise from your queen sized bed, sashaying to the bathroom en suite.

 

"Not once did I ask to dream about any of that nonsense." The shower is turned on as your shed your clothes and step inside, shivering as the water heats up. "You know what I ask to dream about? Getting to eat at a fancy restaurant. The cute silver-haired kid in my class professing his love for me. Normal teenage girl things," you whined, shampooing your hair. "Not some dem-..." you trailed off, your eyes catching sight of the clock above your sink.

 

\---

 

Your mother was sitting patiently in the dining room, a mug of coffee in both hands as she knew the hurricane was coming. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!" Ahh, there it was. She closed her eyes and took a sip of her beverage, holding it like life support. The floor shook as you pounded down the stairs, slipping off the last one as your hair droplets preceded you. "Why didn't you wake me up?!" You complained, racing around the house looking for your black mary janes.

 

"I tried, (y/n), sweetie. Twice," Your mom answered with a soft sigh, waiting for the storm to pass. With one shoe on, the other held tightly in your hand, you came up next to her with a slight pout on your lips.

 

"Oh," was all you could manage. You dropped your other shoe, sliding it on carefully as you plucked the coffee from your mom's hands, taking a long gulp. Immediately your eyes perked up, the rush of sweet, sweet, caffeine hitting your taste buds like a sack of bricks. You replace the mug into your moms waiting hand, leaning down to peck her cheek. "Love you!" you yelled, rushing out the front door.

Your feet pounded against the cement sidewalk, rushing to make sure you weren't late again. You knew your English teacher would have your head if he knew you slept through your alarms again. Once you were sure you were in the clear, your pace slowed, taking in the scent of sea salt in the air. It was a familiar scent, but one that you loved tirelessly. Your islands were pretty nice; extremely peaceful. You wrung your hair out a little, letting the excess water drop onto the cement.

 

Honestly, you weren't sure why you bothered, because since you hadn't had time to blow your hair dry, the humidity would more than likely keep it damp all day. With a sigh, you resigned yourself to your fate, starting to put your (h/c) locks into two side braids while you walked.

 

"(y/n)!" You heard someone call. Your eyes widened as you turned, smiling widely when you realized your friend Selphie was waving at you, fighting to keep up with your pace. You slowed your stroll for her to catch up. "You look like you were just running," she laughs, pointing to the obvious heat in your cheeks. "Either that or you were thinking about Riku again."

 

"Would your shut up?!" You half shrieked, your cheeks becoming heated further from embarrassment as your hand flew over your friend's mouth. "I was running really late, I had a bad dream last night. It has nothing to do with..." You glance around nervously, making sure he's not in earshot. "Him," you finish, dropping your hand to reveal a snickering Selphie.

 

"Well, that's a relief," a relaxed voice butt into your conversation, causing both you and Selphie to stop in your tracks, looking confusedly between the two of you. That is, until a boy with brown extremely spiked hair strolled between the both of you, his hands laced casually behind his neck as he walked. "He's not that great," he teased, turning to wink at you before disappearing up the steps to your school.

 

The groan that left your mouth was pure agony, running a hand over your face. "See what you do?" you ask your confused friend. You roll your eyes and shove her up the stairs and through the gate to your high school. "That's his best friend, Sora. And now he thinks that I blush when I think about Riku, who, by the way, I've spoken about four words to," you add in for good measure.

For her part, Selphie does look regretful.

 

"Aw, sorry, (y/n)! I didn't think anyone was around. Buuut, on the other hand, what a great opportunity for you to make it nine words? You can say 'I swear, I'm not creepy!'." She snickers, clearly pleased with her joke until she sees the death glare on your face. "Wow, calculus, midterm soon, studying....Bye!' And she was off, causing you to groan and hang your head back before fixing your uniform and stomping off to class, already determined to have a bad day.

 

What you didn't see, of course, was the black cloaked figure in the trees across the street from your school. He had been looking to see Sora, but got to catch an eyeful of you as well. His eyes narrow, before following orders on his mission: keeping track of the keyblade wielder. With a chuckle at your misery, a mass of black tendrils encircled him, leading him to his next vantage point.


	2. Starting Duties

Your feet hit the pavement at a quickening rate, breath puffing out of your lungs with each step. Your backpack threatened to fall off your shoulder at any moment, but you kept a firm grip to the one strap you had found the time to sling over your arm before you had to start racing. You never dared to look back. All you knew was you were running. Sprinting down each corridor, running from...it. How long had it been? Three minutes? Four? You only had five minutes from the time the warning bell sounded to get to your class.

 

It had sung, and the plastic spork you had been previously using to try (unsuccessfully) and eat a bowl of cereal the cafeteria had shelled out for breakfast that morning had fallen into the milk. "SHIT," you complained to the empty room, sliding the bowl into the trash can at the end of the table you had just barely sat down at.

 

With not one second extra to spare, you skidded into your English class, hearing the final bell call not more than two seconds after your foot passed the threshold. With a smile on your face and a roll of your teacher's eyes, you sashayed your way to your desk, dropping yourself rather extravagantly into the seat.

 

"Well, now that everyone's here," Ms. Selway began, rising from her desk. "Go ahead and start working on today's entrance prompt while I take attendance." She walked across the front of the classroom, pulling up the white projection sheet primarily used to display works of literature so that the class could read along together. Across it revealed your daily prompt. One paragraph, single spaced, on 'Who do you think you are?'. While a few members of the class erupted in groans, you managed to get away with just exhaling a quiet sigh from your nostrils and pulled out your notebook.

After writing the date and your name (MLA format, of course) on the edge of the page, you stared down at your title. 'Who do I think I am?'. Kind of a heavy topic for not even 8 in the morning, Ms. S. Your brows furrowed as you wrote the first thing that came to mind.

 

'My name is (y/n) (y/l/n). I live here on the Destiny Islands, and was born on the far side of our main island. I'm 17 years old and a senior at Island High School.'

 

Aaaaannnd...you were stuck. What else was there to you? Oh God...who were you? Oh, existential crisis, your old friend. While you had a minor panic attack, you felt something poke the back of your arm. "(y/n).....(yyyy/nnnnnn)." Your form stiffens, your eyes widening before relaxing, whispering a tiny 'nope' under your breath. You'd rather brave the horrifying question of who you are before turning around and answering that call. The foreign object hits the back of your arm once more, causing you to sigh. You put on the most attractive looking annoyed expression you can manage and turn around, cocking an eyebrow at the silver haired boy behind you.

 

"You rang?" The boy's lips are curled into a smirk, his fingers still poised to hold the offending object up. You noted that it had been his eraser jabbing your limb. Your heart was hitched, feeling like it had soared all the way up to your throat. Well, if anything, you could tell Selphie that the word count had bumped itself up to six, now. Falling in line with his smirk, Riku leaned back in his seat, both hands twirling the pencil between his index fingers now, an end in either hand.

 

"I heard you were talking about me earlier," He spoke, his low voice diluted with what you could easily pick up as pride. Oh, she was gonna pay for this. You gave a small smile, flipping one of your side braids behind your shoulder.

 

"Well," you started, never once lowering your eyebrows. "I don't know where you get your gossip, but I didn't say one thing about you. You'd be thinking of my more loose lipped friend, Selphie. Why she can't seem to get your name out of her mouth..." you trailed off, shrugging. "However, that's something you'd have to take up with her, not me."

 

You earned a chuckle from Riku, his eyes crinkling at the far corners just slightly, the look of joy on his features completely new to you, who had only caught passing glances at. Moments in English when he read aloud, glimpses of him playing field hockey during gym, rushed moments passing his locker as you sprinted to your next class, etc.. The effect of his exuberance wasn't lost on your heart, which beat faster, leaving your throat feeling constricted. However, you kept your cool, instead only holding a small grin on your lips, playing along with him.

 

"Alright, fair enough. Too bad, though." His shoulders shrugged, causing your brows to finally fall, furrowed in confusion. Just as you're about to open your mouth to question what he meant by his words, you're cut off by the clearing of a throat.

 

"Ah, Ms. (y/l/n). Maybe you'd like to tell us exactly who you are?" Ms. Selway's voice carried through the room, causing you to turn around stiffly in your seat, heat tingeing the apples of your cheeks.

 

"I'll let you know as soon as I find out," you mumble, glancing down at the half filled paragraph staring up at you. You could all but hear the smirk on Riku's face behind you.

 

\---

 

"Listen, I just don't see why I have to be the one to babysit these brats," A man's voice complained. The voice was attached to a body that was currently stood in a tall tree, arms crossed, the chains of his cloak pressed underneath the lengthy limbs. His hood was drawn down, revealing a mess of spiky firetruck red hair. His roots were darkened- but only slightly. The spikes flew out behind him haphazardly, as if blown back by the wind. His eyes were bright sea foam green, ringed by dark brown lines, making them appear almost catlike. Underneath the stunning eyes the man possessed were peculiarly shaped tattoos. Purple triangles, imperfectly shaped. Almost as if teardrops had fallen and smudged.

 

And underneath those tattoos, was a bored looking scowl. He looked into the distance as he spoke, already hating his mission. What seemed to be worse, it didn't look like he'd be getting a new one tomorrow. "You were the one who complained. And you know how Xemnas feels about complaints," a cool voice spoke, causing the man to narrow his eyes and glance over to his partner. He wore the same cloak, but with looser fitting sleeves. His hood was also down, revealing long, beautiful, sky blue hair. The top had been chopped, leaving subtle spikes, although the rest trailed down to his mid back, impeccably straight.

 

If the other man looked bored, this one looked downright miserable. Blankness was the only word applicable to describe his expression. The redhead's eyes rolled, standing up straighter on the branch he balanced his weight on. "Well remind me next time to complain about having nothing to do for a month." His eyes rolled, tearing his gaze away from the cool-haired man opposite him. "What am I even supposed to do anyways? All the brat does is go to his classes like a good little boy. Nothing to report."

 

Now it was time for the blue haired male's eyes to roll. "You mean to tell me you can cause the most trouble The Organization's seen in years, but you can't make life hell for a Junior in high school? Find some heartless, point them in the right direction. Kingdom Hearts is nearing completion. Do not disappoint us, Axel." With his last words towards the redhead-Axel-the other male brought his hand up. Conjuring a portal and walking through it before Axel could have a moment to protest.

 

"Oh, you son of a..." Axel trailed off, groaning outwardly and running a hand over his face. Heartless weren't exactly easy to find these days, now Maleficent had fallen. He stood up, casting his hand to the ground to call a portal, a portal to a world where he could hopefully dig up a few heartless and corral them back through his corridor back to the Island. With a quick fleeting glance at the boring school ahead of him, he hopped from the tree. His movement was lithe and graceful, ending with him sinking directly into the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am...the worst at slow beginnings HA BUT I have something exciting coming next chapter! It's about half written right now. Thank you so much to anyone who even clicked on the story, I was at work and was literally just shook checking on it. Okay y'all I'll shut up now! Much love!  
> -Minnie


	3. Not a Word

Your pencil dragged lazily over the sheet of your notebook, World History notes strewn throughout the page. The words competed with the drawings you couldn't help but sketch, making it difficult for any information of value to really stick with you. But you couldn't help it. With a sigh, you looked over the figure you'd drawn. Black completely, almost like an angel of death. The other figures filling the page mirrored this one, but the only difference was in how their sleeves were. Some with pointed shoulder pads, others with fitted fabric, some with loose and flowing openings.

  
They were the same figures you'd seen in your nightmare last night and you couldn't get them out of your head, no matter how hard you tried to force the images out. Their terrifying conversation wasn't the worst part; No, what was far worse was the way the hooded figure had stared at you openly just before your awakening. If you'd just stayed asleep for a moment more, maybe you could've gotten a better look at them, maybe if they had just pulled down their hood, you wouldn't have been so scared.

  
With an openly large sigh, you copy down the next line of notes on the white board and move away from the doodles of the black creatures, instead beginning an absently minded fleur-de-lis doodle. About halfway through your scribbling, the most melodious noise you could ever hear sounded through the room. The closing bell. It was with a smug grin that you shut your notebook, any cares for the notes or sketches suddenly in the back of your mind. Haphazardly throwing the notebook in your bag, you made a beeline for the door, eager to be the first one gone.

  
It wasn't like you exactly hated school, it just-...No, alright, you absolutely hated school. With a grand total of two friends, Classes with only one of them once a day, and graduation just a few months away, you had the biggest case of senioritis ever diagnosed. But, truthfully, would you actually be a senior if you didn't? You chuckled internally at your own inner monologue, taking the steps down from the main entrance gate of the school at a quick pace. Suddenly, two large objects slam down onto your shoulders. 

   
"Did you talk to him?" a bright, peppy voice question before you have a chance to spin around, catching sight of the same brunette you had seen on the steps earlier in the day. While you caught your breath-coughing and sputtering, might you add-and rested a hand over your heart, eyes wide and pulse accelerated from the near damn heart attack you just endured, he stepped back, an awkward expression on his face. "Oh...I probably shouldn't do that, right? I'm sorry, (y/n)! I just wanted to see if you had talked to Riku!" He beamed brilliantly as he finished his sentence, eyes trained on your hunched over figure. Once the initial death shock of being attacked has ended, your vision almost going spotty from the spike in your blood pressure, you had finally been able to stand up straight, albeit having to lean against the railing.

  
"Why would I have talked to Riku? Wait, how do you know my name?" Your confusion showed in the way you talked, but you shook your head and furrowed your brows, holding a finger out warily to scold him. "And why in the world are you going around scaring the shit out of me? What did I do to deserve that? I could've died!" This just made the brunette break out into a laugh, reaching out to rub your back, your breath just now regulating.

  
"I said I was sorry!" He ignored all your questions, turning to walk down the stairs. "But," he began, signaling you should follow him. With a roll of your (y/e/c) eyes, you begrudgingly followed one step behind, clutching the straps of your backpack. "I told Riku you were talking about him earlier and that he should try talking to you instead. He doesn't take my advice very often," he shrugged, "but I figured I should at least try and be a matchmaker." You reached the bottom of the stairs and he turned around, a full blown grin on his face.

  
You, however, had crossed your arms tightly across your chest, your eyes narrowed to near slits. "It was you!" you exclaimed, everything adding up in your mind. Sora's eyes widened, clearly not expecting this reaction. "I had one of the most English class ever, got scolded by a teacher, and couldn't make eye contact with him all day!" Your frustration clearly showed and Sora wasn't sure how to deal with it. He played the role of a confused puppy, his head tilting.

  
"Really? He's so weird sometimes," he muttered. "Listen, (y/n), don't let that turn you off of him. Riku's a great guy, he's just a little weird from the time that all that d-" He halted mid sentence, seemingly realizing what he just said. Without skipping more than one beat, and definitely without missing your raised eyebrow, he pulled his cell phone to his ear, not even bothering to pretend to answer a call before speaking. By now, you two were alone, your near heart attack experience giving the entire school time to file out."Kairi! What's that? Dinner at your house tonight? Yup sounds good sorry (y/n) gotta go byeeeee!" He called rapidly, running away before he could even finish his fake conversation.

  
"Wait!" You cried, reaching out to him. With a rather loud 'ugh' you realized it was futile. If he had reacted that way anyway, there was probably no reason for you to hear what Sora was about to say before catching himself. Your hand ran over your face, rubbing the corners of your eyes. But, you know what? At least today was over and all you had to worry about was writing a report before dinner.

  
\---

  
He was watching from the shadows. The keyblade wielder was just standing there, talking to some pointless girl. Axel hadn't seen that face or heard any stories about it, so his assumption must have been correct. No matter who she was, she was getting in his way. The nobody currently had about twenty or so shadow heartless corralled behind him, being contained in a low-temperature ring of fire that only raised slightly off the ground so as not to draw attention. It wasn't much, but these stupider heartless didn't like getting anywhere near the light.

  
His eyes were narrowed slightly from the concentration of keeping an eye on the perky brunette and holding the heartless off until after the civilian had successfully left the vicinity. They had been chatting for long enough, she had to leave soon. The wielder already had a girlfriend, and he seemed like the grossly loyal type, so it wasn't like this was a lovers affair. "Come on, girly, get out of my way now," Axel coaxed, his voice low so he wouldn't be noticed. And then, finally, someone left. But-wait, where was he going  
The act caused Axel's concentration to falter. That was all it took, the heartless had found their next pray: you.

  
\---

  
You were in the process of massaging your temples with your eyes closed, walking the familiar path home when you felt the air shift in temperature about twenty degrees cooler. The light from the sun darkened, as if you'd just had an unexpected eclipse. The baby hairs on the back of your neck perked up, sending an unpleasant chill down your back that had nothing to do with the temperature. You slowly opened your eyes and immediately blanched when you saw a swarm of blackness running towards you.   
The only light in the pit of darkness were bright yellow orbs. Constantly shuffling and volleying up and down, you quickly realized they were orbs and what was coming towards you were tiny little black bodies, each more terrifying than the next. Internally, you were screaming at yourself. Telling yourself to run, move, get out, to do anything except stand there like an idiot. But you were frozen to the spot, unable to do more than stare at your impending doom, mouth slightly dropped, hands still glued to the sides of your head.

  
"Are you stupid? Get out of there!" a mans voice called, shocking you enough to glance up at the area that it came from. You immediately let out a sharp yelp and ducked down, covering your head as you crouched, glancing up just fast enough to see a giant fireball soar over the area where your torso had just been. It had taken out a path of the darkness with it as it had flown, allowing room for a man in a black coat to run towards you. He had hair as red as the flame you'd just seen and spiked back. His eyebrows were half gone, he had tattoos under his eyes, and, currently, he was wearing an expression of pure annoyance.

  
"Unpredictable, disgusting, uncivilized little fuckers," he was muttering as he stood in front of you, back facing you. He glanced over his shoulder, smirking at the terrified expression you wore. "Just stay down there." Aye, aye, captain! You couldn't have moved if you wanted to, but even still, letting this guy handle whatever those were seemed like the best plan to you. Closing your mouth finally, you gave a firm nod.

  
His attention went back to the swarm ahead of the both of you, almost seeming to invite them forward. 'No no no noooooo no no no nooooo,' your thoughts whispered, wondering how you were going to get out of this situation alive. Just when the last of the mob drew close enough, the mans smirk grew, unseen to you. "Let's get started!" His teasing voice sounded, head lowering and arms outreaching. You watched him with confusion on your face until you noticed flames starting to surround you.

  
"Uh…sir…there's…HOLY SH-" You cut yourself off, hiding your face in your knees when you saw him explode into flames as well. Well, this was it. Your last hope at not dying had just exploded. You knew you should have just stayed home today when you had seen the late time on the clock. What did dying feel like? Was it going to be cold or hot like the fire? Where did the fire come from?

  
…How come they haven't come for you yet? Going against your better judgement, you take a chance and peek one eye out from their hiding spot behind your hands, gasping instantly at the sight in front of you. The darkness was gone, the fire was definitely gone, and you'd think you were going crazy and imagined everything. But the robed figure stood there, albeit doubled over, grabbing his knees and panting heavily.

  
"Nope," you concluded finally, standing up and dusting off your hands and knees. Your blue checkered skirt hadn't even been singed, you noticed, pulling it down as you started to walk away from the whole situation.

  
"You almost die," the man panted, noticing you walking away. You stop dead in your tracks. "Someone almost dies for you," he continues, glaring at you through narrowed eyes, "and all you say is 'nope' and walk away with no questions?" His voice sounds like a very confusing mix of extremely annoyed, extremely amused, and dead tired. He finally stands up straight just in time for you to turn on your heel, clutching your hands together with an awkward expression crossing your features.

  
"Well, I almost died, you absolutely should be dead with the amount of fire that just all but consumed you, a random pack of evil creatures just went missing, I've seen almost every horror movie that's come out in the last five years, and my mom's making mashed potatoes tonight," you state, counting on your fingers. "So you'll understand if I don't exactly feel the need to suddenly become a main character." You're about to turn around again when the sound of laughter catches you off guard.

  
Oh, no, this wasn't good. That sound of melodious bells caught you by the heart, keeping you from leaving. You studied his face, taking note of just how attractive this man truly was. His jawline was extremely defined and slender, his eyes were catlike, which fit well for him, you decided. His eyebrows were slanted in a way that you could imagine him laughing, as he was now, or pulling off an evil snarl and putting fear into any living thing.

  
"Listen," you started, stopping your staring, "thank you for what you did for me.""Don't worry about it. It had nothing to do with you, anyways. You're not exactly main character material. You just got in my way, got it memorized?" He leans down to your level, making eye contact with you as he taps his temple once for dramatic effect. You honestly didn't know which statement to be offended by first. Your mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to think of a comeback. "You're not part mermaid are you? That expression makes you look like a fish," he decides, standing up straight and beginning to crack his back.

"Don't worry about it. It had nothing to do with you, anyways. You're not exactly main character material. You just got in my way, got it memorized?" He leans down to your level, making eye contact with you as he taps his temple once for dramatic effect. You honestly didn't know which statement to be offended by first. Your mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to think of a comeback. "You're not part mermaid are you? That expression makes you look like a fish," he decides, standing up straight and beginning to crack his back.

  
"No!" you retorted, finally finding a place to start. "Mermaids don't even exist!" You miss him raising his eyebrows and letting out a puff of air. "Who even are you? You came out of nowhere and burst into flames and now you're insulting me? I was just try-"

  
"Axel," he cuts you off, his tone relaxed.

  
"Wh-what?" you splutter, completely taken off guard.

  
"That's my name. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?" he asks again, once again raising his pointer to his finger. You'd been too busy being insulted the first time he said this phrase, but hearing it again puzzled you.

  
"Right, okay, Axel. (y/n). What were those things?" You'd gotten dangerously curious now, a new question burning your mind as soon as you thought of a different one.

  
"Wouldn't you like to know," Axel teased, a smirk growing on his face. "Doesn't concern you, because, like I said, they weren't meant for you."

  
"Who were they for? Did you release them? Wait- did you mean to attack Sora?" The words flowed out of you like lava, your eyes growing wider with each question.

  
"Calm down!" Axel whined, putting his hands out and lowering them for emphasis. "You're gonna give me a headache. What was it, (y/n…mispronounced)? N-"

  
"(y/n)," you corrected fiercely, crossing your arms.

  
"Whatever. None of it concerns you! Can't you be a good little girl and run home?"

  
"I- N- I- B- …Fine." You were defeated, by not only the whining redhead, but also by the 'I don't think so!' bell ringing in your head. You ran a hand over your face, blessing the fact that makeup wasn't in the equation today. "Can I at least thank you? My mom really is making a good dinner tonight, I wasn't lying. Do you want to come over?" At this point, Axel had truly been ready to just walk away while you were mid sentence, but paused when you piqued his interest. A snort came out when you offered to bring him home.

  
"Nah, moms hate me," he winked. "You can just be forever indebted to me."

  
"But!" you protested, but giving up when Axel shook his head once more. "Alright. I'll pay you back soon, Axel." Your vow stuck a chord in him, his eyebrows furrowing.   
"Yeah, yeah. Get on home, kid." He shooed you away and you turned away, walking the dirt path home. God, Selphie was never going to believe the bullshit you clearly had just imagined. There was absolutely no way that was all real…right? You turn your head to look over your shoulder but see nothing but the empty steps to your school. Yeah, you definitely just imagined it.

  
\---

  
Night fell not so soon after you had left Axel. He watched your house from a vantage point far away enough to where you wouldn't notice him, but that he could study you further. He held a sea salt ice cream in one hand, though it remained uneaten. He didn't mean to stalk you. Really. He had followed you home, portal by portal, to make sure no lingering heartless felt the need to attack.

  
Hey, he may be a master assassin, but he didn't just kill random and hopeless people in small worlds where bad news spread like wildfire. It just wouldn't be in his best interest. He had fully expected you to tell anyone you knew about the situation that had just previously occurred, but you hadn't uttered one word. That's what had inspired him to stick around.

  
He'd made a brief stop in Twilight Town for a snack before returning to his post. But it had been dead still. No mentions of heartless, creepy men appearing in a great ball of fire, almost dying, nothing of the sort. And now, he noticed with a laugh, you were getting into bed at a whopping 9:30. "Some main character," he chuckles to himself. The light in your room flicked off, and he decided maybe it was time for him to go home as well. With a lazy flick of his wrist, he summoned a portal and walked into the darkness, groaning with the knowledge that he'd have to be back to this dumb island in the morning.


	4. Sea Salt Wind

_The room you stood in was familiar in a way you didn't exactly understand. The stark whiteness reminded you a lot of the room you had seen previously, however, this area was much smaller. A bed sat in one side of the room, twin sized with white bedding. In the other, a single white desk with a white chair. Everything was hospital grade clean, but for whatever reason, the smell of rain on asphalt hung in the air. And you…were alone. Just as you shifted your weight to take a step forward, a door opened from seemingly nowhere, causing you to jump about three feet in the air._

  
_As you place a hand over your heart to calm down, an angry-but familiar somehow-redhead stalks into the room. Where have you seen him before? You have no time to put together foggy memories as a blue haired male saunters in calmly after the heated male. "Can I not have one minute to myself anymore?" the first man complains, crossing his arms and turning around swiftly to face the cool faced man._

  
_"You failed your mission," he states matter of factly, ignoring the outburst._

  
_"The kid moved and someone else got in the way." The redhead now moved to sit on the bed, leaning back to rest on his palms._

  
_"You'll excuse me if I have a hard time believing that an assassin would have any qualms about sacrificing a pointless life." Memories were starting to sharpen in your head, confusion plaguing you. Why did this all sound so familiar? At least you were still invisible to them, your actions going unnoticed as you brought a hand to your head, fighting the fog to try and remember where you'd heard this before._

  
_"Get real, Saix. It's a tiny world. Anyone on that island goes missing and it's national news. Wasn't it you who told me to keep a low profile?" His tone was so sarcastic and annoyed it was almost insulting. Saix's face almost cracks, threatening to show emotion._

 

_'Island…' you thought, knowing this had to be something back home._

  
_"Don't fail again," Saix finishes, turning and striding from the room, leaving the other male to roll his eyes, standing up from his bed. Wait! You remembered! You turned towards the male, opening your mouth to call for him._

  
\---

  
"Axel!" You scream, sitting straight up in your bed. You were gasping for breath, glancing around your room crazily, wondering how you'd gotten there so suddenly. When you realized you had been dreaming, you groaned and flopped back down onto the bed. At least everything made a lot more sense now. You had somehow imagined up the whole event the day before. More than likely daydreaming after a hard day at school. Which is why he'd been wearing those robes from your dreams.

  
You sat back up, leaning down and grabbing your makeup bag and pulling it back to where you were seated. You grumbled and reached behind you, pushing the curtains out of the way. With your imagination, you could really write a damn book. How could you be expected to go to school after having these terrifying dreams? You were about ready to march downstairs and ask your mom to get some sleeping medicine after blending your foundation out- but soon remembered she had to work the early morning shift today and frowning. Maybe tomorrow.

  
Once your makeup application was perfected (by perfected you meant, well...on.), you dressed in the usual uniform. White button up, blue tie, blue checkered skirt, black mary janes. You let out a huff of air as you marched down your stairs, grabbing a muffin from the package you'd picked out on your last grocery shopping trip before leaving the house completely. The morning wind ruffled your hair, wavy from the braids you'd plaited the previous morning, and you let yourself get lost in thought on the journey to school.

  
You didn't notice Selphie sneaking beside you to scare you, but you also didn't jump at her feeble attempt. "Oh, good morning!" you greeted, instantly placing a smile on your face. She pouted, crossing her arms.

 

"You weren't scared?" she asked, disappointment clear in her tone.

  
"Not in the slightest," you laugh, leaving your somewhat bad mood behind as you fall into easy conversation with your good friend, When the time came for you to part for class, you immediately went to English, instead of grabbing breakfast like normal. It felt different to be early for once. Not exactly good, because truthfully all you could focus on were those ten more minutes of sleep you could've clearly gotten. But then, of course, you'd have to deal with The Dream again, and that wasn't enj-

  
Your thoughts are cut off when you notice Riku and Sora leaning against the opening to Ms. Selway's class, blocking your entrance. You mentally prepared yourself for making human contact with someone you didn't know all too well this early in the morning, putting on a straight faced but sweet looking expression, making eye contact with the wall passed the door so you wouldn't have the embarrassment of either of them thinking you expect conversation. Aha, yes, you were, in fact, a genius. How you were stuck in a public school setting was beyond you.

  
As you were plotting your easy escape into the classroom, you caught on to just a bit of the conversation they held. "It's over. We ended it." Riku's voice sounded serious, stressed almost. As if he wasn't allowing anyone else to make one comment otherwise. Your head lowered, your pace quickening. You didn't want to be caught in this awkward moment.

  
"All I'm saying is I thought I saw a flash of black and yellow, but when I looked over my shoulder it was gone."

  
"Oh, I had a dream about something like that!" You speak up before you can stop yourself. Your eyes go wide as you realize you've stopped directly in front of the pair. You slap a hand over your mouth as both of the boys turn their gazes to you, Sora looking almost panicked and Riku's eyebrow cocked upwards.

  
"You did?" they both ask, but in completely different tones, depicting the expression they both shared.

  
"Um," you started, cursing yourself internally for not shutting up. "These little creepy black almost overgrown bug looking things with yellow eyes?" They both started growing more concerned. You continued quickly. "I've just been having strange dreams lately. I'm sorry to eavesdrop, I swear I didn't mean to," you added, wearing an apologetic look. "I just meant to get to my seat. Which is just...right...over...there," you finish awkwardly, squeezing between the two friends and turning around, shooting them a quick wave before running to your seat and slamming yourself into your seat. You immediately throw your head into your crossed arms, wishing the day was over already.

  
The warning bell sounded and more people started to trickle in. You didn't pay attention to them or to the hushed conversation being held between two increasingly more worried friends. Eventually, Riku joined the class in his spot behind you, a troubled expression plaguing his face. You kept your eyes trained dead ahead through the whole lecture, never once daring to look behind you. If you had, however, you would've noticed concerned eyes trained on the back of your head.

  
\---

  
After what seemed like actually forever, the bell rings, setting you free for the next five minutes. You turn in your seat, placing your hand on the chair to support you as you stand up. You jump slightly as you feel another hand on top of yours, turning to find its owner. Riku grabs your hand once your attention is caught, helping you stand up. Your heart almost skips a beat as you look up at him, your head tilted. "What's going on?" you ask, confused for a good reason. Yesterday had been your first genuine conversation with him anyway, and it wasn't like that had gone very swimmingly.

  
"I have a free period. Let me walk you to your next class, (y/n)," he states rather than asks. You melt internally, giving him a warm smile.

  
"Yeah, okay," you agree, nodding your head. You turn around to grab your bag, dropping his hand so he wouldn't feel your palms starting to sweat. ' _don't fuck it up don't fuck it up don't fuck it up don't fuck it up,_ ' you repeated to yourself mentally as you guide him out of your classroom and to the right, towards your math class. "So..." you say, beginning to loathe the uncomfortable silence.

  
"Tell me more about the dream you had," Riku requests, glancing down at you and giving you a small smile.

  
"Oh," you start, caught off guard. "It's really stupid, I've been having these...nightmares, I guess you could say, lately. But this one was really vivid and actually a daydream," you remember. "I must have had it while walking home yesterday, right after talking to So-someone!" you recover quickly. Riku chuckles. He already knows who you were talking to, obviously, but you didn't need to know that. "But I was just standing in front of the school and all of the sudden this swarm of black beings with beady yellow eyes attacked me. I was saved by this guy with red hair who said his name was Axel. He lit himself on fire and I'm definitely just realizing how whacked out this dream must sound."   
You've turned a bright shade of pink at this point, though luckily most of it was hidden underneath your foundation. But Riku just stared ahead, keeping his pace steady. You stopped walking, only then breaking his concentration. "This is me," you inform him, pointing with your thumb to your math room. He gives a pressed smile, looking down at you.

  
"Skip fourth period," he instructs you, leaving you twice more confused than you had already been.

  
"What?"

  
"Meet me at the gate by the lunch area, okay?" He gives you a heart stopping gaze, and you can't help but nod along, caught up in his beautiful blue eyes.

  
"Yeah, okay," you agreed quietly. Then you watched as Riku left wordlessly. "What is up with him?" you mumble, watching his back disappear into the small crowd still in the halls. Of course, you had no idea if this was just how he acted normally, but it seemed a little abnormal to you. You pouted just the smallest amount, but the expression was completely wiped off your face when the final bell rang. You ran into the classroom, forgetting completely about any weirdness.

  
\---

  
The bell to end third period rang, and you stood up, your heart beating anxiously at the idea of skipping a class. You'd done it a handful of times over your school career, but it got you every time. But it was worse this time, knowing you were leaving with a boy. You made your way to the lunch area in good time, blending in with the rest of the school. Riku was standing at the gate already, his arms crossed as he watched you. You hurried over to him, not wanting to have to make awkward eye contact for too long. "Hey," you greeted, a smile on your face. "Where are we going?"

  
"The beach," Riku answers, opening the gate and holding it for you. You glance around for any security before walking out, Riku hot on your heels. He swoops your hand up, causing a surprised look to erupt on your features. "Let's go!" He grins before taking off running, pulling you behind him. His smile is so infectious and beautiful, you can't help but giggle as you run behind him, already enjoying this much more than school.

  
When the two of you make it to a secluded area of the beach, he pulls you somewhere shaded, next to a rock. You both sit, not worried about the sand. Once you live here for so long, there's really nothing that bothers you anymore. You sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the waves. Then he speaks up. "You said you've been having other nightmares. Tell me about them."

  
"Why?" you finally ask him, sitting up straighter as you look at his figure. He has his knees bent, lightly resting his wrists atop them. The sunshine hitting his silver hair makes his beauty shine even greater, and your breath gets hitched in your throat.

  
"I want to know more about you, (y/n). I want to get to know you." His voice rings honestly, his gaze turning to you, his eyes locking with yours. Well, that was it. You'd become a puddle. How did any of this happen? Not two days ago you were strangers, and now he wants to know you? Does he want to be your friend? There was clearly no way he liked you romantically like you liked him, you thought to yourself. "(y/n)?" he calls after, waving a hand in front of your face.

  
"Sorry!" you exclaim quickly, snapping out of your daze, pink on your cheeks. "They've been...really creepy," you admit, slumping back into a more resting position. Your legs are curled to your side, sitting as comfortably as your skirt would let you.

  
"Tell me about them," Riku presses, resting his hand over yours. With a deep breath, you nodded, trying to calm down at his touch now. You dove into the dreams you'd had over the last two nights. About the black cloaks, the words Maleficent and keyblade, the names Axel and Saix, the invisibleness, and even offering to bring Axel home for dinner. You had expected him to laugh, but he just nodded as you spoke.

  
"And that's...about it," you conclude, nodding once more to ensure you were finished. It takes Riku a moment to speak, swallowing before he does so.

  
"Well, you're not wrong. Those dreams do sound creepy," he finally chuckles, nudging you with his shoulder. Your eyes roll at his playful banter.

  
"Yeah, well, maybe I'm going crazy, but at least it'll be a fun descent," you sigh out, standing up and brushing sand off your legs. You stare out at the ocean, leaning your body against the large rock you had been sitting next to. "What about you? I-I wanna know more about you too," you tell Riku, looking down at him nervously. His jaw sets, his expression hardening.

  
"You shouldn't," is all he says. Your heart shatters a little bit, wondering what this boy must be thinking. Did he not want you too close? You swallow a thick lump in your throat and nod.

  
"Right. Sorry." You move to walk backward, feeling rejected.

  
"There's nothing great about me. My nightmares aren't conversation points with a story, either. Talking about you is more fun," he says with a small smile. Alright, well now your heart is breaking for different reasons. You open your mouth to tell him you're positive what he just said wasn't true in the slightest, but are stopped when he stands up suddenly. "Let's get back to school. Lunch is about to start and I'm starving."

  
"...Okay," you agree, deciding not to press the issue for right now. He turns and starts to walk away, you following after. the walk back is quiet, and you start to wonder what he could mean about his nightmares. You wondered if there was anything you could do to help, and decided to bring him a cup of your Tension Tamer tea in the morning. Maybe he could de-stress for a day and sleep peacefully at night. Just as you begin to smile at your own idea, your hands behind your back and a spring in your step, Riku turns his head.

  
"Hey, (y/n), would you wanna walk home with me after school?" he asks. Your eyes widen, that being the last thing you expected. "Me and Sora too!" he adds quickly, taking your expression for you thinking of a refusal to spend time with him, instead of it being your heart thrilling at the chance to be with him more like it truly was. Your expression falters a bit when you realize you won't be alone, but you quickly regain it, nodding quickly. Sora was a cool guy, maybe you could make friends with him as well.

  
"Sounds like a lot of fun!" You give him a cheesy grin as he smiles back at you.

  
' _Maybe she has a thing for Sora_ ,' Riku thinks to himself. ' _Kairi fell for him too, it wouldn't be surprising._ '

  
Behind him, you couldn't help but be completely glad about how your day had turned out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO PROOF READING WE DIE LIKE MEN  
> So I think my Baby™ Demyx is gonna make an appearance in the next chapter! I like writing these kinds of one-guy centric chapters so we all have our chance to know them. vanitas will appear...sometime. I honestly do not know when but he's my Baby™ too so! I love our reader (you!!!) and her story's gonna be fun!   
> -Minnie


	5. The Answer To All Your Problems Won't Just Fall Right Out of the Sky!

After you had gotten back from skipping your fourth class, you ran straight to your lunch table, where a loyal Selphie was waiting for answers. Upon seeing you, she let out a gasp and gave you a harsh glare, crossing her arms. You snuck to the table she sat at as unsuspiciously as possible, placing yourself down in front of your angry friend. The smile on your face didn't budge at all, the adrenaline of ditching still coursing through your veins.

  
"You did skip!" Selphie whisper screamed at you, narrowing her eyes. "You left me all alone! I thought I was gonna die of boredom. Where were you?!" she demands. Your eyes dart around, making sure no truancy officers were sneaking around since you seemed to be royalty in the far off kingdom of Getting Overheard Talking About Sensitive Subjects lately. You rejected the crown and didn't need to be made a deity.

  
"Calm down!" you hushed, pulling a bag of candy from your backpack and placing them between the two of you, sharing your wonderful lunch. She grabbed a few candies, plopping one in her mouth while still glaring you down. You began to relive the last hour of your life in detail.

  
"You skipped with RIKU?" she all but yells, causing you to launch across the table and slap your hand over her mouth. Once the coast was clear, you sat back down, a tiny glare forming.

  
"Because that worked for you so well the last time!" you scolded, removing your hand. "Can I finish?" she gave a firm nod, making a show of zipping her lips and throwing away the key. "We left the school. I asked where we were going, and he said the beach."

  
"How romantic!" she sighed. So much for zipping her lips.

  
"Can I finish?" you repeat, waiting for silence. "Anyways, we get to the beach, and he asks me about the nightmares I've been having lately." Clearly, you'd already filled your best friend in on the horrible dreams via text message. Technology was amazing. "I asked him why he wanted to hear and he said," you take a deep breath, Selphie on the edge of her seat, "he said he wants to get to know me better." As your friend squeals, even your heart seems to be a little lighter, fluttering even. "But wait-I just remembered something. I said I wanted to know him better too, and he said something like 'no you don't, there's nothing to know.'" You used your best Riku impression.

"Maybe the reason he says that is because he's shy?" she says unconfidently, wondering herself what that was about. "What did you say?"

  
"Nothing. He changed the subject. I'm wondering if it was a Freudian slip or something." Your head shook as your shoulders raised slightly, finally grabbing one of the candies in front of you and placing it in your mouth. "Oh, he also asked me to walk home with him and Sora today," you add in as an afterthought, your best friends face lighting up once again, a tiny squeal escaping her. Lunch was going to be exceedingly long today.

  
\---

  
The bell to end sixth sounded, causing your heart to jump to your throat. You let out a calming breath, packing up your backpack slowly. Once the rest of the class had trickled out the door you followed suit, headed to the front gate. You grinned when you saw a familiar brunette, bouncing over to him. "Hi, Sora!" you exclaimed, ready to apologize for giving him a hard time yesterday.

  
"(y/n)!" he beams, waving you over. "I accept thank you gifts in the form of chocolate bars," he adds, beating you to the punch. Your eyes rolled, preparing a retort when you spot a redhead girl standing next to him. She was so beautiful, her hair straightened and her uniform fitting her perfectly.

  
"Kairi, right?" you ask, extending your hand to shake. You'd never actually met her before, only catching passing glances through your high school career. You'd been homeschooled until 8th grade, so you'd never made friends like most the Island kids had. You'd heard about her from Selphie, who assured you she was a sweetheart but had distanced herself when Sora and Riku had moved to the other side of the island for a year. She didn't remember much about why they'd stopped talking, just that she realized one day they weren't best friends anymore.

  
"that's me!" she laughs, grabbing your hand and shaking it. "And you're (y/n)?" You gave her a nod, a smile on your lips.

  
"Oh," you realized suddenly, a small blush on your cheeks. "Riku asked me to walk home with your group today, did he tell you? Is that okay?" Flying in from left field, anxiety gripped you like a vice. Luckily, the both of them nodded eagerly.

  
"Of course!" Sora exclaims (as he does with most his words). "We all like to walk home together, I like to keep Kairi close by," he adds, his grip on his girlfriend's hand tightening slightly. you fail to pick up on the worried look Kairi shoots Sora, instead choosing to die internally over the cute. "hey, big head, why are you so late?" Sora whines, looking over your shoulder. You turn, only to be met with eye contact with Riku's tie. Your glance climbs up, unexpecting over the close contact.

  
Subconsciously taking a step back, you greet Riku. "You came," he says, a mild tone of surprise.

  
"Of course. You asked me to," you remind him.

  
"I would've thought you four would leave without me," Riku continues, choosing to ignore the last part of your sentence.

  
"We were about to, you lazy bum," Kairi chides, clearly just meaning to give him a hard time. The three fall into step leaving the school and you follow shortly behind them, not wanting to over extend your welcome and but into their personal chats.

  
"I wasn't being lazy," Riku laughs, more relaxed than you've ever seen him. Clearly being with his friends brings out his best side. You smile to yourself, enjoying being able to witness their friendship. "Wynn had me stay late and collect the tests that no one bothered to turn in."

  
"Kiss up," Sora grumbles, earning a laugh from everyone, including you. At the sound of you chiming in, they all look back at you. "(y/n), get up here with us! Where do you live?" Your eyes widen as you awkwardly walk a little faster to catch up with them, standing on the edge next to Kairi.

  
"You go down to the arcade and hang a left, and then I'm just down a few blocks," you explain with a nod.

  
"You live so far from everyone!" Kairi pouts. "No wonder we just met now." You laugh, shrugging it off.

  
"Maybe, but it's close to the hospital and my mom's a doctor. Shorter commute times for her are good when there's an emergency."

  
"What about your dad?" Riku genuinely almost reached over to slap Sora as soon as the words leave the juniors lips.

  
"Don't have one," you answer too quickly. "Well, I mean, I'm sure I have one, I just don't know who he is, where he is, or what he does." You glance over at the rest of your group, internally screeching when you notice they're all giving you looks of sympathy and pity. Your gaze transfers immediately to the ground. 'Too much too soon,' you scold yourself.

  
"I'm sorry," a deep voice sounds, placing a hand on your shoulder. You look up to see Riku's shoved his way through his two friends to get them away from you. "SOME people don't know what a personal question is," he says, giving a pointed glare in Sora's direction.

  
"It's fine, really. I've had 17 years to get over it, and honestly, there wasn't much to get over. I have trouble remembering much before a couple years ago. Something really fuzzy just comes over me when I try to think about it and now I'm saying more than any of you ever wanted to know and I'm gonna stop it." Your sentence runs too long and you slap a palm to your forehead, cursing yourself for being so painfully awkward. You hear Riku laugh and realize the two of you are walking alone now, Sora and Kairi a few steps behind you to give you space.

  
Riku stops walking, his grip on your shoulder causing you to stop as well. You turn to face him, a sheepish grin on your face, a more amused one on his. "You worry too much," he tells you, your heart melting a little.You turn your head to the side, breaking the eye contact you'd previously been holding and taking note of your surroundings. The street you were walking was ending, forking off in two directions.

  
"Oh," you began, looking back at Sora and Kairi. "You all live that way, don't you?" you ask, pointing to the right. They all nod. "Well, this was fun, but I guess this is where I get off." You jerk your thumb to the left, where your house awaited, full of all the chores you had forgotten to finish.

  
"Bye (y/n!)" Sora calls, yelling.

  
"Bye, (y/n), it was great meeting you," Kairi smiles. Riku's the only one who looks worried.

  
"Can I walk you the rest of the way?" You're about to tell him he could move in if he wanted to, with that look on his face mixed with that soothing voice. But those chores run back into your head, remembering the state of your room and kitchen. God, you hoped you didn't leave the muffin lid open this morning.

  
"Nope!" you exclaimed, shaking yourself out of your thoughts. "It's too big of a burden, I couldn't let you." Riku sighs and steps back a little.

  
"Alright. Just be careful, okay? I'm not dealing with Selway without you tomorrow," he winks, pulling you in to a sideways one armed hug before letting you go and walking away with his friends. Kairi turned slightly to wave behind the trio, causing you to wave back. You let your blush fly to your cheeks and let out a deep breath, turning on the right way to go home.

  
\---

  
"Hide in the trees, they said," an adolescent voice whines, pushing things out of his face. "They didn't care to mention that nearly every tree on this island is a palm tree!" He lets out a huge huff, trying to conceal himself in palm fronds. The truth was, he should've expected that on an island they'd be a vast majority. He didn't wanna be here anyway and was all but forcing himself to find new ways to complain. "How convenient Axel is sick the day after he screws things up. Now I have to go clean up the mess. I was supposed to go to Atlantica today," he grumbled, finally getting to a decent vantage point only to realize that his target had vanished.

  
"Huh?" He exclaims, his hood falling back to reveal a young face with a slight edge to it, but mostly just looking like a teenager. His honey colored hair was shaved on the sides into what mostly resembled a mohawk. The rockish style complimented him well in some unforeseen twist that no one outside of the 80's could have predicted. But his face was plagued with worry, glancing around from sight to sight, trying to regain vision on the keyblade wielders. "Come on," he whines, turning just in time to see a flash of (h/c) hair.  
Aha! He knew that hair! He quickly conjured up a portal, jumping into a different tree that would give him a better view. There you were! But where were the keyblade warriors? You'd been with them just two shakes of a palm frond ago! Oh, Xemnas was gonna have a cow if he didn't get a couple hearts released today. Roxas wasn't waking up, these two were the organization's last hope. Correction, he didn't care about any of that. he just didn't wanna be a dusk before dinner.

  
You kept walking, oblivious to the fact that someone was watching you. You were humming a song from a few years back that had been stuck in your head, all but skipping on the path. "Is she related to Snow White?" the man questioned, tilting his head before shaking it. no! this wasn't the time! You had to know where the keyblade wielders were. But you walked so fast. He lifted his head up, seeing the next tree he could transport to, but also seeing a nice bush on the ground. He could see more from the tree, and he'd probably be better hidden, but the bush was on the ground and...on the ground.

  
Bush, tree. Bush, tree. Bush, tree. Eventually, he let out a noise of fear and frustration mixed, and held out his hand, hoping for the best. He walked through the portal he had called, swirling black tendrils inviting him in.

  
\---

  
"WAH!" A male voice screamed from your left. You jumped and screamed with him, just in time to see a black mass literally fall out of the sky. Holy mother of God what in THE HELL WAS THAT and WHAT IS IT and W-

  
"Oh my God it's a person!" You exclaimed, running over to help him up. the figure on the ground was laying there, face down, arm twitching slightly. "Are you okay?" you ask loudly when you get to his side, grabbing his shoulder and flipping him over onto his back. You let out a breath of relief when you see his face isn't horribly mangled, just a few minor scrapes. The man groaned, reaching a gloved hand up to rub his face.

  
"My noooose," he groans, rubbing it gently before blinking a few times. His vision took a few moments to adjust, fuzzy from the impact his head had made. But when his vision clears and he makes out your concerned face, he immediately tries to stand up. "Gotta go! Oh, no, don't gotta," he finishes as he falls back, using his elbows as rests.

  
"Are you stupid?" you ask him, forcing him back so that he's mostly laid back. "Where did you even fall from? Does your head hurt? Does your nose feel broken?" Truthfully, his nose was already feeling better, but his head was still fuzzy. He didn't know how to respond to your second question (or the first for that matter), his portal definitely had not taken the direction or picked a spot for itself. He just threw his head back in response, thinking about how much trouble he was going to be in when he got back.

  
You'd been so distracted by the falling and the injured man before you, you hadn't even noticed his choice of wardrobe. Long black robe, black gloves, black boots, pointed shoulder pads...your face paled as you realized where you'd seen this before. You picked up one of the chains at the center of his neck, feeling the cool metal there. "Where did you get this outfit?" Your voice is little more than a whisper, but you know he hears it. His eyes widen, his lips swallowing themselves up. He didn't answer.

  
"I told them not to send me," he whined, propping himself into a sitting position. "You can't tell anyone!"

  
"Nope." It was your new catchphrase for bad things that happened. Bad things had been happening a hell of a lot more these last two days, you noted. "Alright this is fun but I need to go get in bed so that when I wake up I won't be confused." You stand up, clapping your hands clean of any dirt before turning and leaving the situation.  
"Stop!" he called, reaching out to grab the only part of you he could reach, which turned out to be your ankle. "No don't fall!" It was too late and you were on your way down. You threw your hands up and shrieked before feeling the impact, tiny rocks embedding themselves into your palms.

  
'Okay, ow. Ohhhhhh...oh no...oh no, this isn't a dream. That hurt like hell.' Your thoughts were calm, but when you sat up and saw the blonde with his hand outreached toward you, mouth open in horror, waiting for you to react, you started screaming. You screamed your head off, kicking your feet away from the man and backing up off the path till your back reached the base of a palm tree. You screamed, placing your hands on your ears and closing your eyes. you screamed until a hand covered your mouth, velvet on your lips, muffling the sound. your eyes went wide, shock stopping you.

  
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," the man said, his index finger on his free hand pressed to his lips. You got angry, shoving his hand off your mouth and glaring at him.

  
"Do not tell me to 'Shh'!" you yelled. "Who the hell are you?"

  
"My name is Demyx," he answers, backing off, his hands in the air.

  
"Alright, Demyx." you stand up, crossing your arms and walking towards him, causing him to step backward. "What the hell are you, why the hell am I seeing you in my dreams, and what the hell are you doing with me? Where's your buddy, Axel?" Your anger had gratefully taken over your fear, causing you to hopefully intimidate instead of look intimidated. Demyx was wincing with your every question, muttering little 'ooh's and 'ahh's, knowing he certainly can't tell you that.

  
That is, until your last question. "Wait, you know Axel?" This did nothing to help your rage.

  
"Yes! He nearly set me on fire yesterday!" You scream, throwing your hands in the air, stopping your forward pursuit.

  
"Ohh, no way!" Demyx laughs, recognition crossing his face. "You're the reason he failed his mission!" If he pushed you one step further, you were about to take on Axel's talent and have steam blow out of your ears. "Not that it's your fault!" he added quickly, holding his hands over his face. This act managed to make you remember that this boy had just recently fallen out of the sky. With a sigh, your anger leaves you.

  
"If you kill me I will haunt you forever," you promise, causing Demyx to look confused.

  
"Huh?" You roll your eyes, grabbing his gloved hand in yours and tugging him behind you, speed walking him to your house as quickly as possible so no one else would catch glimpse of him. Once you got to your house, you dropped Demyx's hand, who had accepted his fate and behaved like a toddler who knew they were gonna get a spanking. You rummaged through your backpack, pulling a notebook out and thrusting it into his hands, wanting nothing more than for it to be out of the way.

  
"Hold that," you order, finally grabbing onto your keys. Demyx's eyes widen, and he begins flipping through the pages. You finally get the door open and sigh, immediately walking up the stairs. He follows close behind, eyes transfixed on your notes. "'(y/n) (y/l/n), period 6'. Is that your name? (y/n)?" You glare over your shoulder before catching sight of his puppy dog eyes and nodding.

  
"Yes, that's me. You shouldn't go through peoples things."

  
"Huh? But that's me!" he exclaims brightly, beaming and holding up a page, pointing to one of the figures you had sketched.

  
"You know what? Keep it on that page, I have questions. Sit," you ordered, pulling your vanity chair into your bathroom. He does as instructed, looking at the other drawings. You leave him alone for three seconds to reach under your sink to grab the first aid kit your mom had brought back from the hospital, which had been collecting dust next to old shampoo bottles. When you come back up, he's gone. "Wh- Demyx?!" You call, leaning around the edge of the wall to see him standing in your room once more.

  
"This is how I keep my room too, don't worry!" he laughs, looking through your things.

  
"I- Wha- No! Come back here." you can't help but laugh. This one and Sora could have a competition on which was more like a 3-day old puppy. Demyx finds his seat again and looks up at you.

  
'What are you going to do to me?" He's wary of the brown bottle you're pulling out. You grimace as you grab a cotton ball, pouring the hydrogen peroxide onto it and placing it on your palm. You hiss out a breath, causing a horrified expression to come over Demyx's face. "Are you torturing me?!" he exclaims, hand up and ready to call a portal and get out of this situation.

  
"No! I'm helping! Have you never had to clean your cuts before?" you ask, grabbing another cotton ball for his injuries. His head shakes and you pull a face. Ooh, this wasn't gonna be fun for him. "It doesn't even sting that bad," you lie through your teeth. It kills. You turn around, giving him a warm smile as you bring the cotton ball to his face. "Just a little bit." Press. He's up like a bullet, jumping back against the wall.

  
"OWOWOWOWOWOW!" he whines, clutching his face. "You said you weren't torturing me!"

  
"I'm not! It's gonna hurt worse if you get it infected!" You run forward, rubbing it against his other cut, pressing him to the wall. He hisses and whines, trying to struggle free, but finally, you're able to clean his wounds. You had to press all your weight against him to keep him still, but eventually, he stopped fighting. You let out a breath of relief and step back, panting a bit. "Doesn't that feel better now?"

  
He doesn't want to admit it, but it really does. The stinging subsided and he couldn't even feel his scrapes anymore. He just huffs and plops himself back in your chair. You grin, satisfied with yourself. "Alright so since you nearly maimed my hands and your friend damn near set me on fire, I just want a couple answers.

  
"Uhh.." Demyx began, eyebrows raising. "I can try?" He couldn't give much information, but it wasn't your fault you were caught up in this.

  
"Okay," you agreed, glad you were getting somewhere. Now that you really had a chance to understand what was happening, your heart was racing. "I have dreams about you and your kind. Why?" Demyx laughs.

  
"My kind? We're normal people, just all doing the same job. I don't know why you're dreaming about us, that's weird. Did you dream about Axel last night?"

  
"Yes, but it wasn't the first time," you fill him in.

  
"But you only met him yesterday right?" You nod. He shrugs. "That's weird." You let out a sigh. great, so that question went nowhere.

  
"Alright, next question. You said you're normal people. So you're...human? With the ability to set people on fire?" Your eyebrow raises.

  
"Well...uh, not exactly? We're nobodies." He didn't need your confused expression to tell him he needed to explain further. "We used to be human but we died. When you die, if you're strong, you become a heartless and we gain a nobody."

  
"You...died?" Your heart is only shattering a little. Demyx nods, trying not to think too much of it. "Do you rememb-"

  
"Most do. I don't." His reply is short and very uncharacteristic, so you decide to not press it.

  
"Okay, what's a 'heartless'?" Air quotations surround the word.

  
"The things that attacked you yesterday," Demyx explains with a smile. Alright, you weren't asking hard questions, no problem.

  
"So heartlesses don't have hearts, so the hearts must go to the nobodies then, right?" Crap. There was no way you were going to understand it. He could literally be in Atlantica right now, swimming without a care in the world.

  
"Not exactly. Heartlesses have the hearts, Nobodies aren't supposed to have hearts." 'But I think we do.' he leaves off his afterthought.

  
"What." It wasn't even a question. That made no sense at all. "Then why aren't you the heartless and the heartless the nobodies?"

  
"I don't make the rules, (y/n)! Heartlesses have hearts, nobodies want them, and the only way to get them back is to kill the heartless with a keyblade."

  
"WAIT! A keyblade? What is that? That was in my dream! Who's Maleficent?" Your questions were becoming frantic, remembering everything at once. That was when you heard it.

  
"Honey, I'm home!" Your mom's voice rang throughout the house, your face paling again. "Didn't I ask you to clean the kitchen?"

  
"Who's that?" Demyx asks, smiling due to the fact that he got to avoid harder questions.

  
"My mom," you groan, pulling him up. "You need to go." With a firm nod, Demyx calls a portal behind him. Your eyes widen, and he's about to step through it without you doing anything due to shock. "Wait!" you call, grabbing his hand. He turns, confused. "Will you come back?"

  
He battles with himself before nodding. "Yeah, I will," he answers. That's enough for you to drop his hand, letting him leave.

  
"Bye, Demyx. Be careful!" The portal disappears, but you can still hear his laugh. Your door opens and your mom leans against the frame, arms crossed with her eyebrow raised.  
"Well?" she asks, gesturing to the mess in your room.

  
"Sorry, mom," you sigh, holding up your palms. "I was being clumsy and fell and had to clean myself up." The expression on her face instantly turns to concern, stepping forward and grabbing your hands.

  
"Oh, baby, no. They don't look so bad. Come on, we'll go clean up together." She gives you a reassuring smile and places an arm around your shoulder, leading you out of the room. You walk with her, turning your face over your shoulder, looking at the spot Demyx had just disappeared from.

  
\---

  
Demyx stood on top of an office building nearby, wanting to work his portals out before trying to get home. He watched the light in your room click off before sighing and leaning against a pillar. He wasn't about to go back to Saix OR Xemnas empty handed. Well, if he couldn't find the keyblade warriors, he was gonna have to improvise. Releasing a few heartless over the island wouldn't be too terrible, right? They'd find them no problem, and everyone would be happy. Pleased with his idea, Demyx summoned another portal, ready to find a few pirates to release.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you cry every time you finish Terra's game route and you know it clap your hands!  
> [literally just me clapping while sobbing]  
> ANYWAYS this chapter turned out to be about twice as long as I intended but Demyx has arrived! I decided where I want this story to go while writing it and I really think everyone will like it. Who are you rooting for? Are we excited to meet Vanitas? LMK!!  
> -Minnie


	6. New Student

**_I've been having these weird thoughts lately... Like, is any of this for real...or not?_ **

  
_\---_

  
_You were falling. The only way you could even tell was from the sick sensation of vertigo that churned your stomach, threatening to have you throw up if you open your mouth. But you didn't feel any wind on your face, and you definitely couldn't see anything. You wanted to scream, but had the strangest feeling no sound would leave your throat. Finally, a light appeared in the distance. It grew brighter, shining and growing with each moment. Your eyes narrowed against the unexpected light, your pupils too dilated to see details._

  
_Wait, you weren't stopping. 'Oh Sh-' your thoughts were cut short by the unexpected impact. You'd crossed your arm over your face, expecting extreme pain, but you felt nothing. You tentatively opened your eyes, glancing down at the floor. Light. You stood up on shaky legs, looking around and taking in your surroundings. You seemed to be standing on a rounded pedestal that was made out of...stained glass? A quick walk around the center showed a beautiful woman captured wonderfully in the light tiles._

  
_Just as you started wondering where you were, three square podiums raised from nowhere, surrounding you. You made a noise of surprise, moving back to the center of the pedestal. But nothing attacked you. Instead, three objects appeared with a beam, dazzling you. A red shield with a crest in the center, a green rod with three balls on one end, and an ethereal looking sword sat atop their respective podiums, drawing you in._

  
'Power sleeps within you.' _You jumped at the noise. Or should you say lack of noise? The voice came from inside your head, but it wasn't your own thought._ 'If you give it form... _' the voice continued,_ 'It will give you strength.' _Your hands flew to the sides of your head, begging the voice to stop. You were getting scared, you didn't know where you were, and now you might be going crazy._ 'Choose well.' _The voice echoed and then stopped._

  
_You glance around. Choose well? Were you supposed to hold one of these? You swallow a lump in your throat, taking a step forward. You note that once you do, you can feel the light from the ground seeping into you, giving you confidence. Your next step is sure. You walk to the rod and grab hold. The sword looked too heavy for you to carry, the shield not your style- but the rod looked ergonomic and like you could whack someone with it if need be. The second your fingers close around its staff, the voice returns._

  
'The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin.' _You give the staff a once over, grinning at it. You'd made a wise choice._ 'Is this the power you seek?' _You had no idea how to answer, so you gave a firm nod. The staff disappeared into thin air, leaving you to turn to the other podiums._ 'Your path is set. Now, what will you give up in exchange?' _Your eyes dart left to right, unexpectedly faced with this decision. With a step in the right direction, your choice is made._

  
_The sword isn't as heavy as you expected but still looks like trouble to carry._ 'The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A weapon of terrible destruction.' _You grimace at the object, almost wanting to drop it immediately._ 'You give up this power?'

  
"Yes." _Your voice echoes throughout the darkness surrounding you. You were sure._

  
'You've chosen the power of the mystic. You've given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?'

  
"Yes."

  
_The podiums falter. What seems to be an Earthquake shakes your pedestal, chipping away at the ground. The stained glass breaks into multiple planes, disappearing into pure nothingness. And soon you, too, are falling. You sink backward, your hand reaching up towards the last remaining bits of light. You can hear the voice faintly but can't make out the words, like you're growing more distant from your own mind. Once more you're plunged into darkness, vertigo taking over once more._

  
_\---_

  
You wake with a start, the sensation of free falling still very real to you. Once you take in your surroundings, you calm down. Not even an outward groan escapes your lips. Were you getting used to this already? The horrible nightmares? Or...the visions, rather. At least you didn't have to see Demyx or Axel in those scarily white rooms last night. You throw the covers off you and walk to your vanity. A flashback of Demyx pouting in your chair comes to mind and you grin a little, remembering the whines he had released upon your hydrogen peroxide torture.

  
You sigh and pull the chair out, refusing to let yourself think of such crazy things this early in the morning. If everyone else could pretend their problems didn't exist, so could you. Instead, you grinned while applying primer, wondering what you could eat for breakfast. You laughed while you blended your foundation, imagining the walk to school with Selphie. What you didn't do was panic while doing your eyebrows imagining walking the path alone. You definitely didn't almost hyperventilate while applying mascara while thinking about what you would say if Riku tried to ask what you did last night during English class.

  
You decided breakfast might not be the best idea.

  
\---

  
"I can't believe you didn't call me last night!" You jump and flinch at the sound of a female, the whining tone giving you some flashbacks. To be fair, you were walking alone with your eyes closed, not thinking at all about what happened the last couple times you walked alone. What in the world was Selphie doing here anyways? Once you calmed down, you addressed the unamused friend, who was glaring at you with her hands planted firmly on her hips.

  
"I completely forgot, cut me a break," you complained, shooting a puppy dog expression. Her eyes rolled.

  
"Yeah, yeah. Classic (y/n), forgetting to fill her best friend in on what must be the most exciting day in her life."

  
"I take full offense to that," you retort with your eyebrows raised. "I've had plenty of exciting days."

  
"Fill me in!" She completely ignored your outburst.

  
"Well," you began with a sigh, trying to recall what happened before Demyx fell out of the tree. It seemed so long ago to you now. "We left from school and they asked where I lived, it got a little awkward because Sora asked about my dad." Selphie made an awkward face, hissing in a breath. "Yeah, exactly. But then we had to split up because I live in the middle of nowhere."

  
"And that's all?" She complained. The poor girl was a hopeless romantic and you were giving her nothing to go on.

  
"Oh," you remembered, your finger tapping your lips. "Riku offered to walk me the rest of the way home but I didn't let him." You could feel a firm smack on your arm, jumping and complaining loudly. "Ow, that hurt!" You rub the sore spot, softly glaring at your friend who was putting her backpack back over her shoulder.

  
"WHY DIDN'T YOU LET HIM HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING YOU ARE SEVENTEEN AND SINGLE AND YOU ALWAYS WILL BE IF YOU KE-" You rushed forward and slammed a hand over her mouth, muffling her screams. You two were getting WAY too close to school for her to be screeching like you were in the middle of the woods.

  
"I didn't because it's too far out of the way and my room is a mess! He made me promise to be safe and said he needed to see me in the morning! I know what I'm doing!" Selphie's angry eyebrows relax as you talk, licking your hand to get you to drop it from her lips.

  
"Alright, you're not completely hopeless." She sighs loudly, looking towards the sky as you climb the steps of the school. "I need to find someone to romance me, take me on dates, and take me to prom." Her dreamy tone made you glance over at her, giving a genuine grin once you do. Your best friend was amazing and she deserved someone to be good to her. Frankly, you weren't sure someone existed. You pull her into a sideways hug and squeeze her shoulder before turning and heading towards your class.

  
"I'll see you later, okay? Be safe, junior." You wink before turning your head away. You had been getting to school earlier than usual and were delighted to find you didn't have to deal with nearly as many people in the hallways as you did when you were hauling it down the hall to be in class before the bell rang. It was nice and not nearly as stressful. You stop almost dead in your tracks when you walk through Ms. Selway's class. Sitting in the spot that was normally yours was a beautiful girl with short black hair.

  
She was smiling and laughing, turned around in her seat to talk to Riku. He didn't seem nearly as enthused at this hour of the morning but was humoring her all the same. Your eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, wondering who this was and why you'd never seen her before. You walked forward again, smoothing out your expression. "Um, excuse me?" you interrupt quietly. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're sitting in my assigned seat and I can't get in trouble again."

  
"Told you," Riku mutters, finally cracking a grin as he turns his attention to you. "Morning, (y/n). I tried to tell this brat that she was invading your space, but she didn't seem to believe me." You chuckle nervously before the girl reaches over and punches him straight in the arm. Hard. "Ow! What was that for?" The girl just rolled her eyes and stood up, smiling widely at you.

  
"Sorry! I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth." She crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out at Riku for effect. Riku's eyes were now the one rolling as he leaned back in his seat, the first warning bell ringing. The girl reaches her hand out to you jerkily, leaning forward. You take it cautiously, not used to this much energy this morning yourself. "My name's Yuffie!"

  
"Oh, nice to meet you, Yuffie. I'm (y/n)," you smile, paying no mind to the over-exuberant way your hand/arm was being shaken up and down. "You know Riku?" You tilt your head as you place your bag down at your desk.

  
"Oh, we go way back." You miss the kick Riku aims at Yuffie's shins and the glare sent her way.

  
"Oh? I've never seen you around before." You would have definitely remembered meeting her. Her personality was not something you could forget, and you already loved her.

  
"I'm from...the other side of the island!" She exclaims with a nod. "I met Riku when he lived there." Ohhhh! It all made sense now. You take your seat and motion to the one to your right.

  
"Well, welcome to Oceanside High. No one sits in this spot, it's all yours." Yuffie beams before sitting down, making herself comfy before shooting Riku a gloating glance.

  
"You done now?" His tone is bored, but it does nothing to curve Yuffie's enthusiasm. She turns back to the front as more students trickle in. His attention turns to you, a softer expression resting over his features. "You got home safely last night?" Your heart skips a beat at his concern for you.

  
"Of course! Walk there every day," you lie smoothly, waving a hand dismissively. Riku's hand reaches out and grabs onto your wrist, much to your surprise. "Wah-?"

  
"Then what happened here?" The smirk on his face was literally audible. You look down at your hands and curse yourself. Miniscule-but still visible-cuts still litter your palms, trailing down to the tops of your wrists.

  
"Oh...I, uh...I never wanted you to find out," you sigh, bringing your hand back and placing it in your lap and staring at them.

  
"Not know what?" The concern in his voice is so adorable you almost break face.

"I am...horribly clumsy." you bring your face back up, grinning cheesily. "I tripped because a lizard ran out of a bush and terrified me. Don't worry." You smile reassuringly at him before giggling at his expression.

  
It was too much for you. The hurt puppy that was just trying to protect you look got to you. Before you could stop yourself you leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek and returned to your seat. The blush on both of your faces was enough to warrant a fire warning. You quickly turned in your seat as the final bell rang, your fingers flying to your lips. Unseen from behind you, Riku's fingers brushed over his cheek.

  
\---

  
The class was over quickly, thankfully, and you were walking to Math with Riku as your guide again. This was an arrangement you could definitely get used to. "So," Riku began, his hands in his pockets. You turned your attention to him and listened carefully, a quiet 'mhm' leaving your lips. "You have any more of those weird dreams last night?" Literally every curse word you had ever heard ran through your head.

  
'Oh, yeah, about that, turns out they weren't actually dreams, there's these weird and for whatever reason aggressively attractive guys watching me and in some cases sending these weird monsters named heartless after me. By the way, I think they meant to send them to Sora!' You internally snorted at your own thoughts and turned your attention to the ground, watching each foot step in front of the other.

  
"I...don't wanna talk about it." You swallowed thickly before walking headfirst into a hard surface. With a "Doof!" you look up to see Riku right in front of you. He rests a hand on your arm comfortingly, looking you in your eyes. God, his eyes were breathtaking. What even was that color? That striking blue. You wanted everything in your life to be made of that shade.

  
"(y/n), I want you to know you can tell me anything." The emphasis he puts on the word 'anything' is significant, but you're dreamily caught up in how badly you wanted to be anywhere but standing in front of your math class right now. being on the beach again would be nice. Heartless who? You forgot everything. You're cut off by a hand waving in front of your face, breaking you from your dreamlike state. You jump back, looking at the offender. There was Yuffie, one eyebrow raised with her hands on her hips. "Some people need to walk through the door so they're not late, you know."

  
A fierce blush came over you as you realized the both of you had been standing directly in front of the door frame, blocking the entrance. "I'm so sorry!" you apologized.You turned back to Riku for a brief moment. "And thank you. I really appreciate that. I want you to know that goes both ways, okay? I'm only a few blocks away with hot chocolate whenever you need me." You give a small grin before running inside, leaving the two friends alone. Riku watches you, wondering what the feeling in his chest was meaning.

  
"Lovesick puppy," Yuffie grumbles, walking in. She's stopped by a strong arm, glancing up at the source and, seeing Riku's serious expression, wearing one of her own.

  
"It might be too late. Keep a close eye on her," is all he says before walking off. Yuffie blows out a sigh, walking into her next hell: math.

  
"Ah, you must be Yuh-fye K-....Kis-..." the teacher struggles.

  
"Yuffie Kisaragi," the brunette groans, already having to hear this once today. Being stuck at a school to babysit was her least favorite idea ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long for me to write and I'm so sorry! Working full time is so much fun. Axel's coming back next chapter though!  
> -Minnie


	7. Rapid Fire

By the time lunch had come around, Yuffie had decided the two of you were best friends. She invited herself to stay over for the night because her parents were catching up with old friends. You couldn't bring yourself to even be frustrated at this turn of events. Yuffie had such a high energy and positivity point that it was just infectious, causing your cheeks to hurt from smiling so much throughout the day. Besides, you had other sneaky plans up your sleeves.

  
"Selphie!" You call out in the hall, grabbing Yuffie's arm and running after your flippy-haired friend. She turned in surprise and her face broke out into a grin at seeing you.  
"I was just lookin' for ya!" she laughs, waving a greeting to the newcomer. "Hi, I'm Selphie, who are you?" There she was, your best friend. Loud, proud, and extremely nosey.

  
"I am the great Yuffie," Yuffie states proudly, planting her fists on her hips. "I just transferred into the senior class." The one class you hadn't had with your new friend so far was the one you and Selphie shared, and it wasn't like you were ever able to get any words in edgewise between boring lecture after boring lecture. Regardless, Selphie still gave a pout, crossing her arms.

  
"The senior class has all the best people."

  
"You got that right, junior," you laugh, walking past her and eyeing an empty table not too far away. more students were trickling in and you didn't want to be forced to spend lunch in the direct sunlight...the horror of it all. Once you plopped yourself down-gracefully, of course-at the long picnic style table, you began once more. "So, Yuffie's coming over tonight to stay over. You want in? We have to break her in on everything that is "The Best Side of the Island"." The air quotations were real.

  
Selphie laughed and nodded her head, pulling her lunch from her bag. "That sounds like fun! I'm always up for a girls night."

  
"Mmhmm, can't wait," Yuffie agrees. Of course, there being more than one girl she was supposed to protect and make sure wasn't getting involved or sucked into the heartless situation arising wasn't part of her plan, but if she wasn't allowed to have some fun on her quest then she would go crazy. "I have to go brave the evil cafeteria food," she grumbles, standing up and pulling a coin pouch of munny from her bag. "Wish me luck!" You both gave your condolences as she skipped away. Once she was out of earshot, Selhie reached over the table, grabbing your hand and squealing.

  
"We have another friend!" You squealed right back, nodding and gripping her hand tightly.

  
"We're not just gonna be a lonesome twosome anymore!" It was almost sad how excited you both were about the prospect of company. But, the Island was so small that everyone already had their cliques, and you'd been excluded from most. Selphie had other loose friendships, but you were pretty much alone up until a couple days ago. Besides, a newcomer was the perfect distraction from the whirlwind your life had become lately.

  
By the time you both had finished your squealing competition and you were dragging a peanut butter and jelly from your bag, you had company. Two thumps vibrated the bench you sat at, causing you to look up. When you did, your eyes widened, but a small smile played on your lips. "What are you all doing here?" you questioned, glancing at your new guests. Riku was sat next to you, Sora beside him, and across from him, next to Selphie, sat Kairi. Ahh, yes, your super sneaky plan was going off without a hitch. Consequently, without any action from you either. There goes your master plan involving bribing and smores.

  
"is it a crime to sit with your friends now?" Kairi teases with a smirk on her lips. She turns to Selphie after getting situated, who looks nearly shocked. "Hi, Selphie. I haven't seen you in forever." She gives her ol friend a genuine smile, earning one in return.

  
"I missed you," Selphie admits, clearly glad to have her friend back. The two start talking and you watch with a dreamy expression, glad that they were reconnecting. They were both so sweet, it wasn't right that they had stopped being close friends. A voice snaps you from your thoughts.

  
"So, (y/n), are you sick of Yuffie yet?" Sora leans around Riku, who's picking at his school lunch, to ask you. You shake your head and are about to answer when the girl in question returns, slamming her own lunch down between Kairi and Selphie and sitting, shooting the brunette a glare.

  
"You know I can hear you, right?" The whole table laughs as Yuffie throws her apple at a shrugging Sora, hitting him square in the shoulder.

  
"So wait," Riku starts, speaking for the first time since his arrival, "This is Selphie right?" Selphie looks shocked but nods, agreeing. "You're (y/n)'s loose-lipped friend, then. The one who couldn't get my name out of your mouth, as she so eloquently put it." You start laughing so hard you clutch your sides, only laughing harder when you see Selphie's face flush bright red as she stutters, trying to think of a response.

  
"HA!" you laugh and point at her. Once you calm down and wipe the tears from under your eyes, praying your mascara hadn't run, you serve her your rightful justice. "That's what you deserve!"

"I was just saying that you were the one thi-"

  
"THAT'S ENOUGH SELPHIE ANYWAYS KAIRI WE'RE HAVING A SLEEPOVER AT MY HOUSE AND YOU SHOULD COME OKAY GREAT." You had cut her off at the speed of light, not letting her anywhere the idea of finishing that sentence off. Kairi is currently giggling herself silly but is able to make out an answer that sounds like 'yes' and you relax in your seat at last. You look over and notice Riku hadn't done more than pick at his lunch. With furrowed brows you nudge him, causing him to turn his expression to you.  
"What's up?" he smiles, giving no indication that anything might be wrong.

  
"Have the rest of this," you offer, sliding your sandwich towards him, only one corner gone. "I know the school lunches are gross here. In reality, the reason he wasn't eating was because he knew that somehow the heartless were back, had attacked you, and now you were having dreams about them, saying nothing for what it means that they were back in the first place anyway. Was it his fault? Was Sora going to leave to take care of them? Was King Mickey going to ask him to go back to the Realm of Darkness?

  
"Thanks. What is it, a PB&J?" You didn't need to know any of that. You didn't need to be dragged into it. Your happy nod was enough to pull him out of his dark thoughts. For the moment, at least.

  
\---

  
"Oh, son of a-" you grumble to yourself, searching your whole person and even going through the effort to dump your whole bag out onto the concrete. Your entourage pauses while you're on your knees searching through the wreckage.

  
"Lose something?" Yuffie asks as Kairi gets on her knees next to you to help you look. (Okay, maybe she just wanted to help you get a little more organized. Was that such a crime?) You groan outwardly, running a hand over your face.

  
"It's not here. I think I left my cell phone in my desk last period."

  
"Eww," Selphie chimes in as you finish packing everything back into your bag.

  
"Agreed," you sigh, standing up.

  
"Let's go get it!" Yuffie offers, already ready to bound back towards the school.

  
"No, no!" you cry, waving your hands. "I'm not gonna make everyone walk back because of my mistake. We're not that far back and Selphie knows the way to my house." You toss her your keys, which she catches just barely, almost letting them slip through her fingers.

  
"But-"

  
"It'll be fine," you promise, turning back towards the school. "I'll be there soon!" Yuffie looks like she's ready to walk after you anyway, but Kairi stops her.  
"Sora's in detention if anything happens," she explains to the worried but excited girl. This explanation is lost on Selphie, who continues to lead them to your house like nothing was wrong. You keep walking towards the school, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. You could swear you saw a flash of color in the distance, but by the time you look, it's gone.

  
\---

  
Thirty minutes later and one long lecture about responsibility later, your phone is safely tucked away in your bag. However, your patience has gone missing. You're grumbling the whole walk until you see the flash of color again. Red. You stop dead in your tracks and almost consider just walking forward again. "If I don't, it's gonna be worse later," you sigh and turn towards the tree you'd seen the light from. You place your bag at the foot of the tree and grab a branch, hoisting yourself up. You're about halfway up to the top when you hear a noise.

  
"Didn't your dad ever tell you not to climb a tree in a skirt?"

  
"Huh? Wh- WAH!" You lose your footing in the shock of it all, reminding you a lot of Demyx in the split second before you realize you're falling. "Not again!" You squeal, covering your eyes and bracing for impact. There's an impact, all right, but it's definitely not the harsh landing you were expecting. You slowly peek from behind your hands and see the face that haunted your dreams smirking at you. You scream again and recover your eyes. You can't see it, but Axel's own seafoam orbs are gyrating at an alarming rate. He sets you upright, and when he's sure you can stand, uncovers your eyes.

  
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite main character." He's exactly the same as you remember him. You reach your hand to your arm and pinch hard, cursing when you feel the pain.

  
"This is real..." you note, glancing up at the redhead. "How did you get down here so fast? I saw you at the top of that tree!" You point upwards for emphasis.  
"Wow, how about a 'Thanks for saving my life, Axel'? Rather, what are you doing out here again? Got a wish to be heartless bait that you haven't told me about?" He raises one eyebrow, leaning against the base of the tree boredly.

  
"I do, in fact, go to school right up the street," you reply, crossing your arms.

  
"Right."

  
His short answers were starting to irritate you, but suddenly something else crossed your mind. "Hey, where's Demyx? Are you working together?" Well, that definitely caught his attention.

  
"You met Demyx?" You nod, his eyes narrowing. "Well that explains that. That lazy little punk got the both of us in trouble. He released a bunch of heartless, those little black guys, all over the island instead of finding the damn keyblade wielders and having them deal with it head on." The irritation behind his words was audible, but you paid it no mind.

  
"Wait, those are all over the island now?" Wow, you definitely should've taken Yuffie up on that offer to walk back with you. Now you had to venture back, alone, through the heartless infested roads. And what were you going to do if you saw one? Summon up a fireball to chuck at it? Oh, no, this wasn't good. You pressed your hand to your chest, trying to take as discreet of calming breaths as possible.

  
"Why? Are you scared?" Axel smirked as he talked, walking closer to you with each step. You started to shuffle backward. "Maybe I should let the heartless take you, after all. It might shock those kids enough for them to start slashing through 'em again." Your breath caught in your throat, frozen in place by fear, your eyes wide. Axel reached out and snatched your wrist, bringing it up to his face. "Or," his voice was an octave deeper than normal, almost romantic. "I could just eat you right now."

  
Well, this was definitely how you die. This guy had gone from almost killing you, to saving you, to definitely killing you in two days. You were helpless to watch as his lips opened, dragging them across the flesh on the underside of your wrist, His teeth grazed over a vein and applied the tiniest amount of pressure and you screamed. After ten seconds, you noticed you weren't dead, felt no pain, and your wrist had dropped. Axel had laughed himself into backing against the tree trunk, doubled over, tears falling from his eyes. You failed to see the comedy.

  
"What-WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!" You yelled, tears pricking the corners of your eyes as you clutched your wrist, noticing the perfectly normal looking teeth indentation lightly showing on your skin.

  
"Nobodies don't eat people!" he spits out, still laughing. "You should've seen the look on your face!" Alright. What you were getting from this situation was that you weren't dying, again, and you didn't like this guy anymore. Your hands balled into fists at your sides and you started walking back home. "Oh come on, MC, don't be like that!"  
You turn around and glare daggers, stomping toward the nobody. "I told you my name is (y/n)! I don't know who MC is but you're getting your humans mixed up," you spat, pushing him lightly. His eyes roll, barely swaying.

  
"That's you. MC, main character. Got it memorized?" He taps the side of his head, and most your anger leaves your body.

  
"You do that a lot. Do you notice?" Axel sobers up, giving you a tiny glare. Now it's your turn to laugh.

  
"Alright, alright, MC, let's get you home. No heartless death for you today." he turns you around, pushing you lightly. You start walking, once again at ease. You had no idea why your feelings fluctuated so easily around Axel. When you feel his hand stay at the small of your back as you walk, you furrow your brows.

  
"Wait, you're actually walking me home?"

  
"So you really do wanna be heartless bait. You could've saved me a lot of trouble when we first met if you had just said that."

  
"No, I appreciate it!" You clarify quickly, not wanting to sound ungrateful. "But...why? Why do you care if they get me?" To be truthful, he wasn't exactly sure. Saix had been right, he really should be fine with letting one life go with all the killing he'd done, paired with everyone he'd lost. His trademark smirk covered up his thoughts.  
"I do believe you promised me dinner. Someday when I'm hungry that's gonna be of really good use." You chuckle. Of course that's why. Who knew your moms home cooking would save you one day? Other than she, herself. You turn the corner and he follows, freeing your back from his grasp. It feels extremely cold now and you're not sure why. "I bet you gave Demyx the third degree and he went and spilled all our dirty secrets."

  
"Uhh," you tried to remember, "not...really? I asked what attacked me, who you both were, and why I was having dreams about you." You ticked the items off on your fingers, nodding along.

  
"Woah, woah, hold the race here. You're dreaming about little old me?"

  
"UH" Your blush comes in full swing. "Not like that!" You assure. It does no help. He's already laughing. "I had a dream about what I think was you, your voice sounded so familiar. In a room of white tall chairs. And then of you in a white room with a bed." The chuckling beside you stopped.

  
"...How do you mean?" You turn towards him, the unusual serious edge to his voice causing concern.

  
"Like in the room, I was there but you couldn't see me. There was a blue haired man there, too. I think...I think he asked why you didn't kill me." Your voice is quiet, your eyes trained on your mary janes. "I guess I wanted to know too."

  
"Then you should've paid attention to the answer I gave him." His cold tone catches you off guard slightly and you hunch over further, your breathing shallow.

  
"Right. I'm sorry." You swallow thickly, looking up to see your house nearby. You grab Axel's arm to stop him. "I have people over and I don't think you want to burden yourself further." He wanted to cut you off but decided against it. "I just...I'm scared, Axel. I don't like learning about this, dreaming about this, being involved in it." Why you had the sudden urge to be vulnerable, you had no idea. This was definitely not the guy to be confessing to.

  
A hand ruffles your hair, and you see a sympathetic grin. "You need to get over it." And that there was why you shouldn't have said a word. "Like it or not, your world isn't safe. Wouldn't you rather be aware of that than disappear with it?" Wait, what? You open your mouth to ask him a question but he beats you to the punch. "I'm definitely not explaining that. Now go on and be a good main character, get along to your company."

  
You sigh, walking forward. You turn your head over your shoulder. "Thank you for walking me, Axel. I feel safe around you." You shouldn't. "If you're here tomorrow I promise I'll feed you!" And with that, you run into your house, spotting the familiar girls sitting in your living room, the smell of a frozen pizza heating in the oven wafting through the room. You smile and hold up your cell phone in victory, and the crowd goes wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the love on my work! It really keeps me going. The next chapter is gonna be quite awakening ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
> -Minnie


	8. Awakening

_Once again you were falling. Plummeting towards an endless darkness. This time, you were calmer- more aware of your surroundings. Where you missed the wind last time, while you dropped now you could feel the flicker of a breeze, the ends of your hair rustling. When you saw a light in the distance you didn't hesitate to shift your weight around._   
_You landed on the floating platform quite gracefully, your feet levitating for a second before the gravity kicked in and you planted yourself firmly on the glass. This platform was the color of a deep blue, a large portrait of a fair maiden decorating it. You had hardly had a chance to look around before the palm of your dominant hand started to tingle. It wasn't a burning or stinging sensation, instead almost feeling like pressure._

  
_The staff from your last visit to the dark arena suddenly appeared in your hand, causing you to jump back and stare at it in shock. No sooner had your mouth dropped than had the newly familiar voice sounded throughout your mind._ "You have gained the power to fight."

  
"Fight?" _The word feels wrong in your mouth. Fighting was something you did with brat kids who were mean to you in second grade, what you and your mom did occasionally when you were being a brat, something you always hated the result of. Your lips drew into a confused pout, your stance slackening as you stared at the object in your hand._

  
"Attack." _The word sounded in your mind and before you knew it, you had swung the staff forward, arching it out in a semi circle around you. You gasped and all but dropped your weapon._ "All right! You've got it." _You did not want to 'have it'. Could that have even been your own doing? you hadn't told your body to do it, rather it just happened._ "Use this power to protect yourself and others."

  
"Protect..." _Now this word, this word felt right leaving your lips. You immediately had a vision of everyone you wanted to protect, lined up with each other like it was an awkward family photo. Your moms beaming face shone through brightest, still wearing her scrubs and lab coat from work. Selphie grinned at you, holding up two fingers in a peace symbol. And...your new friends; they were there too. Sora, Kairi, Yuffie, Riku, even Axel and Demyx. Your resolve was set. You could protect all of them if it killed you._

  
_Immediately after your heroic epiphany, two black objects started to wiggle out of the ground and all your resolve was out the window. You shrieked, instantly recognizing the creatures as heartless. Your staff dropped and you ran to the edge of the platform, scooting away and putting as much difference between them and you as possible. Protect? From these guys? Oh no, honey, not your ass. The only person you'd seen get rid of these nuisances had to literally set himself on fire to do it._

  
"There will be times you have to fight." _Oh, that tone got your temper flowing._

  
"Well excuse me, creepy mind guy, I've never fought anything in my whole life! How am I supposed t-" _You felt the staff appear in your hands before you even finished the sentence. With a deadpanned stare off at nothing, you accepted your fate. The creatures inched closer and you braced yourself._

"Keep your light burning strong." _Your light...that was the key. You let out your best war cry and charged forward, swinging your staff wildly. When you felt it make contact you let out a fearful shriek, but it didn't stop you from whacking away at the insectuous creature until it disappeared and only a pile of yellow orbs appeared._

  
"Wait, is that munny?" _You cocked your head to the side, your staff arm falling to your side. Rookie mistake. the second heartless took advantage of your open weakness and lunged forward, slashing you on the arm. You hissed, your free hand covering the mark._ "You little--" _You charged off again, putting all your might into beating the crap out of this annoying thing. He too disappeared and left behind yellow orbs. Walking up to them you realized you were right, it was munny! You laughed, picking the orbs up._

  
_Once the last one was tucked away safely, the ground turned to darkness. You lifted a foot, your eyes widening. You were sinking into it at a rapid rate and were helpless to stop it from happening. Your mouth opened to scream but it was as if your vocal chord had been cut off. Your (y/e/c) eyes closed tightly, hoping whatever this was it would end quickly. By the time you opened them again, you could tell you were lying on your back. Sitting up, you noticed a red platform supported you this time. All that was with you was a single table with three different pieces of paper strewn along it._

  
"You are the light that will complete Kingdom Hearts." _You were doing what with the who now? You rubbed your head in confusion, willing yourself to wake up any time now._ "Free the hearts trapped inside those who have stolen them." _The heartless, right? You shook your head and stood, striding to the table in the middle of your platform._ "These are those who will help you on your journey."

  
_The three pieces of paper held different titles._ **"SORA" "RIKU"** _and_ **"KAIRI"** _jumped out at you. Your whole body started to tremble, your blood running cold. With a shaking hand, you picked up Riku's page._

  
'Keyblade wielder aged 18 years. Current location: Destiny Islands. No rema-'

_You placed the paper back down on the table quickly. It was absolutely none of your business what remained to be read. But keyblade, that was a familiar term. Axel and Demyx had both mentioned them. They were the ones who fought the heartless. Riku...was fighting the heartless? Your memory flashed back to when you had first met Axel. He had claimed he meant them for somewhere else and you hadn't wanted to push it, but it was obvious now that he had been referring to Sora._

  
_You felt nauseous and turned from the table, taking note of the door that had mysteriously appeared. It was extremely tall and impeccably ornate, scrolling wire surrounding it. You walked towards it and placed a hand gently over the handle. Before you turned it and exited, the voice rang true in your head._ "The door will open soon. But do not be afraid. The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes."

  
_The words sent shivers down your spine and you glanced behind you, admiring your shadow. In this darkness, it was almost unnoticeable. You turned back to the door and swallowed thickly, cranking the handle. It swung backward, revealing your own room to you. Three girls littered the floor around your bed, all snoozing away peacefully. And you...you could see yourself. Your breathing was heavy and your face contorted._ "But do not be afraid," _the voice repeated._ "For you are the light, (y/n)."

  
_Your feet pulled you through the door._

  
\---

  
Instantaneously your eyes opened. You didn't gasp for air, you didn't panic. You looked around your room, checking for any sign of a door. Finding none, you pouted at your dominant hand. It felt a little lighter without the staff there to grip. After inspecting every facet of your hand, it fell against your sheets. You looked around your room wearily, eyes locking onto three bundled sleeping figures. Yuffie and Selphie were fast asleep without a care in the world. Kairi, however, looked as if she was having a fitful slumber.

  
You threw yourself back against your pillows sighing heavily. How had she gotten mixed up in all of this. She held a keyblade, too? You couldn't imagine her fighting the heartless, not with her sweet smile and loving and open attitude. For that matter, you couldn't see Sora beating them senseless, either. Riku made more sense. It would explain a lot of his brooding. And now heartless were swarming your island thanks to Demyx, Axel's voice reminded you in your memories. Were...were you supposed to try and stop them now? You didn't even have your staff anymore and couldn't imagine it would mysteriously appear outside of your dreams.

  
Suddenly, rustling broke you out of your internal nightmare. "Good morning, (y/n), "Selphie yawned, rubbing her face drearily. You remembered the night you'd had and grinned at her propping yourself up on your elbows.

  
"Have a chocolate hangover?" you teased, shooting her a playful glance. She glared back, not noticing anything amiss. That was one of the best parts of having a busy parent. You were exceptional at lying, now. You ducked and missed a soaring pillow before yawning and stretching. Well, there was no need to worry two of the girls with what you'd just experienced, and maybe you didn't even need to tell Kairi. "Wake up, helpless sleepy heads!" You called, putting your feet down on the floor.

  
A groan sounded from Yuffie's direction as she pulled the covers over her messy short hair. She had a wicked case of bedhead, you could already tell. Kairi woke up with an almost gasp and immediately locked eyes with you. Well, there goes the idea of not telling her. It seemed like she might already know. "Good morning!" Selphie greeted the other two girls, already beaming. She'd been in such a good mood ever since she and Kairi had started speaking again. Coupled with her being a morning person in general, she was wide awake and ready for the Saturday ahead.

  
"Not morning alreaaaadyyyy," Yuffie complained, finally admitting defeat and tossing the covers from her head. All other three girls let out laughs upon seeing their new friend, causing her to grow confused. "What, do I offend?" She stood up from her makeshift bed and glanced around, looking for a mirror. Once she caught an eyeful of herself, she deadpanned. Hair stuck out in every direction, tufts and single strands alike making her look comparable to Sora. "Great," was all she mumbled out, causing the rest of the room to break out into full on guffaws.

  
\---

  
Two hours, four showers, and 8 chocolate chip muffins later, the party was winding down. You were ready to see your guests out the door when Kairi suddenly made an announcement. "Oh, (y/n), I think I forgot my bracelet in your room! Can you help me look for it?" That was a lie if you'd ever heard one. Kairi hadn't come wearing a bracelet. Either way, you nodded, turning back to Selphie and Yuffie.

  
"You two go on ahead, I'll send Kairi off in a few! See you at school Monday!" You gave brief hugs before bounding up the stairs with Kairi in tow. Once you were both safely in your room and you heard the door click shut, you turned to face her. You both looked nervous.

  
"You know...don't you?" she asked meekly. You considered playing dumb for half a second before letting out a dejected sigh, putting your head in your hand.  
"...Yeah," you eventually answered, peering up at her. She let out a breath, moving to sit on the bed.

  
"How?" Well, this was gonna be fine. You sat at your vanity chair and explained your dreams the last two nights to her in detail. To your surprise, she nodded along to each word as if she knew exactly what you were talking about. Once you finished explaining, you sat there, waiting for her response. "Sora had an extremely similar experience when he first got his keyblade." Well, that explained that.

  
"And...you?" you asked hopefully, wishing this was something normal. She looked at her lap, chewing her lip.

  
"I'm really new to this," she began, turning her gaze up to match yours. "I can only summon my keyblade when I'm in imminent danger." Her hand reached out right in front of her like she was ready to grasp something. Nothing appeared. her hand dropped and she gave a self-depreciating smile. "See?"

  
"So summoning things is completely normal?" You were very curious about this whole situation and were glad Kairi was also new to this; you could have someone to learn with.

  
"It's supposed to be, I guess. Sora and Riku can do it no problem." Her arms crossed and she gave a kind of pout. You laughed, nodding. Everything felt better once you talked it out and confirmed you weren't crazy.

  
"Okay, then. Thanks for talking with me." You grinned at her, glad to have her company. She looked at you seriously, standing up and walking to you, grabbing your hand.

  
"There's a reason we all met each other. Call it what you will, fate, destiny..."

  
"...A horse?" you interrupted, not missing your chance at a joke. "Never mind," you added hastily when you noticed she didn't get your reference.

  
"Anyways. We're all meant to be friends and fix the heartless problem once and for all." You smiled, nodding and giving her hand a squeeze. "We'll save the worlds, even if it means we have to miss math," she chuckled. You, personally, were hung up on her word choice.

  
"Worlds?" Your head tilted to the side curiously. Kairi looked as if she was going to explain but caught sight of the clock.

  
"That's a conversation for a different day. I promised Sora I'd meet him for lunch at his house soon," she explained sheepishly. Your eyes could've transformed into hearts right then and there.

  
"You two are so cute!" You squealed. She looked away and blushed, but it didn't stop you. All the way down that stairs you were singing love songs to her. She finally stopped you when you got to the door. You gave her a big hug and let her go, making sure she was on the main road before shutting the door. What. A. Morning. You turned away from the door and moved to go upstairs to clean up after the tornado of four girls that had hit your room, but when your foot hit the first stair, another knock sounded through the front entrance.

  
With your eyebrow raised, you made your way back to the door you'd just left, cracking it open. You needed to raise your gaze to see the familiar silver haired boy you'd become friends with. "Riku!" You exclaim, pulling the door the rest of the way open. "What are you doing here?" Did he know? Was he here to tell you you couldn't talk any more now that you knew, that he didn't need another heartless fighter in his life? Anxiety, your true best friend, came soaring into your mind without a moments notice.  
"I just wanted to see you," he answered coolly. Anxiety = disappeared. Heart racing and sweaty palms = fully activated. You gave him a dreamy grin before stepping back, meaning to allow him into your home.

  
"Come on in," you offered, not even caring if anything was amiss now.

  
"Thanks. I was worried those three wo-" Riku was cut off by your shrieking, wildly pointing behind him.

  
"Heartless!" You yelled, other words failing you. He took no notice of you even knowing what that word was and instead instantaneously turned around, crouching into a battle stance. Once his blue eyes locked onto the shadow that was running towards your house, he felt Oblivion weigh down his hand. He ran forward, ready to slash at it.  
"STOP!" it was a voice you recognized but were too terror stricken to realize it. You could feel flickering pressure in your palm, coming and going in waves, but your wide eyes were trained on Riku's back.

  
"Hold it right there, water boy!" A third voice entered. Before you knew it, Riku was joined by two other men. One with blonde hair, the other a fiery redhead. They surrounded the heartless on all sides, each with their weapon drawn. The creature in the middle seemed all but forgotten as the three glared each other down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [evil laughter]  
> -Minnie


	9. Every Time a Heartless Appears, a Wielder Gets Her Keyblade

Three sets of eyes glanced at each other. Brilliant blue, sea foam, and aquamarine met, the heartless they encircled all but forgotten. Two sets of eyes glared harshly at the other intruders, the third wide with concern.

  
"What are the both of you doing here?" Riku's cold voice sounded first, his tone merciless.

  
"I could ask the same thing, impostor," Axel sneered, summoning his chakrams quickly. Personally, you were more concerned with the heartless sitting in the middle of the three men. You fought with yourself, inching closer and stepping back again. Surely one of them would get it, right?

  
"Is that a joke? This is my island. I should've known some pathetic nobody would be behind this. Not even Maleficent would dirty her hands with something as trivial as this," Riku spat in return, causing Axel to step towards him and raise a chakram. Demyx seemed to have the same idea as you and was inching towards the heartless, who appeared to be waiting for commands. "Not so fast!" Riku yelled, turning his keyblade at the blonde.

  
"Haven't you done enough?" Axel roared at the same moment. Demyx held his hands up, spluttering for a moment.

  
"But the- I just wanna- C'mon, guys, we don't have t-" He narrowly missed a bolt of thunder sent his way by ducking and yelling, his hands covering his head. "This is all Axel's fault!"

  
"MY fault?" Axel asked loudly, his tone incredulous.

  
"You're the one who said he was too sick to go on a mission and made me take over!" Demyx stood back up, summoning a blue instrument that resembled a guitar. Could nobodies get sick? You made a mental note to ask when your life wasn't in danger.

  
"Boys, boys, calm down," Riku shrugged, chuckling. "You're both idiots if you think you're going to pull anything off. Didn't I already kick enough of your member's asses for you to leave me alone?" Alright, you were getting sick of this banter going on between the odd trio, and it seemed the heartless was, too. It shook its antennae, bright yellow eyes locking on you. You blinked, wondering what it was doing. By the time your eyes reopened, it was dashing towards you. Your shriek was what pulled the three boys out of their glaring competition.

  
"(y/n)!" three voices called at once, but it was too late for you to hear. Heat burned your palm; you closed your eyes and swung forward, feeling that you had made contact. Your eyes reopened and you were able to see the heartless stumbling back. With a battle cry, you cracked your weapon down on it three more times before it finally disappeared. The usual munny orbs were visible, as well as a green orb next to them. You paid no mind to that, however. For when you had watched the heartless disappear, you saw something you hadn't seen back on the stained glass platform. A pink heart had floated towards the sky.

  
Once the heart had disappeared, you glanced down to your hand, yelping when you didn't see your usual staff. No, this time, you were holding something that appeared to be a key. All you could see was a flash of blue before the weapon disappeared from your palm. You glanced furiously from your hand to the trio in front of you, mind reeling. "What was that?!" You asked no one in general, hoping any of them had an answer.

  
The boys of varying heights had honestly been watching you with mouths agape, unaware as to what was appearing before their eyes and rendering them physically unable to jump in and save you-even if you hadn't needed saving, thank you very much. Axel was the first to react. His mouth shut and pressed into a firm line, eyebrows furrowing. He simply called a portal behind him and stepped back into it, disappearing from the situation. He wasn't ready.

  
Your attention instead turned to Riku, mainly. As someone who was just talking about how much ass he kicked, he should be able to help, right? Luckily, he calmed down and stepped towards you. "(y/n), that was a keyblade. How did you get one?" You could tell he was trying his best to keep his voice calm, but it was strained with worry and confusion.

  
"I...last night, I dreamed...and they said you, Sora, and Kairi...and then Kairi told me...and you..." You fought to find the words as you pointed to his keyblade. "I had one of those?" Riku exhaled through his nose, maintaining eye contact. Oblivion disappeared from his hand. He nodded stiffly, stepping forward and opening his mouth to say something but was cut off by Demyx darting in front of him and grabbing your hand.

  
"WHOAAAA, (y/n)! You really killed that heartless! I haven't seen someone fight like that since Roxas was with us!" He turned your hand over in his own, inspecting it closely as possible- like he wanted to see where you had hidden the keyblade. You furrowed your brows at the sudden intrusion but didn't pull back, either. "If I had known you had one of those I would have just let the heartless come after you."

  
Immediately after that, his hands were ripped from yours by a glaring Riku, stepping between the two of you so you were behind his back. Your mouth opened to defend yourself but you were interrupted.

  
"Did you just say you wish you had sent deadly heartless after her?" The color drained from Demyx's face as Riku's eyes narrowed.

  
"NO! I meant it's easy for her to release the hearts! That would work so I wouldn't have to release them willy nilly!"

  
"So you admit you were the one who let them wreak havoc!"

  
"I was trying to find you!" Demyx whined, waving his hands in front of his face and recoiling. Riku was on the verge of laying into the nobody and destroying him verbally but gave pause at his words. You'd been put into danger because of him. He was pulled from his spiral by the noise of your soft giggle behind him. He twisted his body to look at you, catching you laughing with a hand over your mouth. Upon seeing his confused expression, you laughed harder, unable to help it.

  
"Huh?" Demyx was confused as well, cocking his head to the side as he watched you. "What's so funny?" You caught your breath at last, a few last giggles escaping your lips.   
"Sorry, this whole situation is just so ridiculous," you wiped under your eyes to make sure you hadn't started crying from your laughter. Riku turned his whole body to you, blocking Demyx from view.

  
"Are you okay? I know how...weird this is when it's all so new." Riku grabbed your upper arm gently as he spoke, rubbing circles on your shoulder with his thumb. You nodded...then shook your head. No, this was definitely weird. You weren't used to any of it yet and it definitely wasn't to be considered 'okay' yet. Demyx's head popped over Riku's shoulder, eyes wide.

  
"Wait, that was new? No wonder you looked so scared, (y/n)!"

  
"What are you still doing here?" Riku asked, sounding annoyed. He hissed the words out through his teeth although his grip on you still remained gentle.

  
"Oh...I, uh, just wanted to make sure (y/n) was okay," Demyx admitted sheepishly. Riku dropped your arm and turned on his heel, glaring him down.

  
"What do you mean? Nobodies don't have hearts. It's not like you can care about her," he spoke coldly. Demyx's face screwed up, holding his hands up.

  
"Come on, don't be like that. (y/n) is my friend!" He waved at you for good measure. You gave him a small smile and wave in return, causing the blonde to beam. "See? Oh!" he exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. "I have to tell Xemnas! He's not even gonna be mad at me when I tell him there's another keyblade wielder. Bye, (y/n)!" And with that, he was gone. You laughed again, but Riku called after the disappearing nobody.

  
"Don't you dare--!" He let out a sigh as he realized it was too late and the musical man had left. Then he turned back to you. "How do you know him?" he questioned.  
"Demyx or Axel?" you asked, scratching your head.

  
"You know the both of them?" With a sheepish shrug, you explained how you knew the pair of nobodies, leaving out a few key personal details.

  
"So, I guess, Demyx is the reason I know anything about this in general. Otherwise, I would've been...lost," you finish, scrunching up your face before relaxing it again.

  
"What Demyx said earlier isn't true. He can't feel. He doesn't know what friendship is." Now it was your turn to be confused.

  
"Nobodies can't feel?"

  
"They don't have hearts. They have nothing to feel with," Riku explained. Your expression turned south, a frown forming. How incredibly...sad. To go through life without a heart to follow or even emotions. It sounded so broken, like you couldn't even be a full person. With a wave of sympathy for the two you'd come to know and like, you decided you still wanted to be friends with them.

  
"Oh." That was all you offered on the depressing explanation. "Hey, wait," you began, your expression changing back to normal instantly as you looked at the silverette. "Did you know all along that my dreams were more than dreams?" He looked like a kid caught with candy, guilty as charged.

  
"I hoped they weren't," he answered, looking away from you. you thought back to when you started to be friends with you. It started when you blurted out about your experience with Axel and the heartless to he and Sora before English.

  
"Oh," you stated sadly, turning your expression to the floor. "That explains why you suddenly started talking to me. It didn't make sense that you realized I exist after so many years, but of course you wanted to learn more. It makes sense." And, logically, it did. But it didn't make the ache in your chest dissipate any faster. You had the sudden urge to just go back inside and beg your mom to make the really good peanut butter cookies with sugar on the outside.

  
"Hey," he started, grabbing hold of your hand as you attempted to do just that. You hated how your heart jumped. "It may have taken me awhile to realize how cool the girl who sat in front of me was, but to be fair I had a lot on my plate the last few years." He grinned at you. It was a smile that made you give one in return. Why did seeing him happy make you happy too? It was like you'd do anything to make him smile. "Either way, I'm glad I did. I just wish it wasn't like this. I wouldn't wish the burden of the keyblade on anyone. Not anymore." You moved to ask him why he felt that way when the door to your house opened up, revealing your mom standing with a bag of trash in her hand.

  
"Oh, here you are, (y/n). I was wondering where-" She caught sight of your hand, still encaptured in Riku's. A blush came to her cheeks very lightly, nowhere near matching the fire truck red color flooding your own. You furiously dropped Riku's fingers and tucked your arms under your armpits. "Don't mind me!" Your mom exclaimed, holding her hand up and walking quickly down the driveway to the trash bin.

  
"Wait, no, mom!" you called. "It wasn't- I'm not- I-" You gave up, burying your head in your hands and groaning. 'Islands, any time you wanted to swallow me up, I'm ready.' You only released enough to let your eyes pop over your fingers when you heard Riku laughing. God, that sound was melodic. "What are you laughing about?" you half-snapped, trying to cover up how much you enjoyed hearing it.

  
"Nothing, nothing," he laughed, shaking his head. You groaned again, running your hands through your hair. "Sorry, (y/n), I'll leave you with your mom. But I'm gonna check up on you later, okay? Don't make friends with Nobodies." his tone turned serious. "They don't have your best interests at heart." Well, that wasn't happening. You really liked both your nobody-buds.

  
"I mean...is anything at their heart?" Riku rolled his eyes, reaching forward to ruffle your hair.

  
"Very funny." You laughed, closing your eyes against the contact. You thought you were hilarious.

  
Funnily enough, where you would do anything to hear you smile, Riku was deciding he'd do the same to hear that laugh one more time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I could probably get these out faster if I focused more on writing and less on making playlists of songs for each boy that I think they'd listen to. Anyways, this is kind of shorter, but if I had continued it to where I wanted it to be, it would be too long. Alas, two chapters it is.   
> Thank you for all your kind words!! I love you all so much. Reader has such a warm place in my heart.  
> -Minnie


	10. Instinctual

When you felt the warmth of Riku's hand leaving the top of your head, you reopened your eyes, your arms crossing under your chest loosely. He had turned already and was making his way down your driveway. Oh, this wasn't good. At this rate, he was going to have to make contact with your mom. Your mouth opened and your fingers outstretched, trying and failing to stop the awkward situation from occurring, but it was too late. Your fingers curled into a fist and dropped anxiously as Riku stepped in front of her.

  
She looked shocked, but took Riku's outstretched hand and allowed him to shake it, then giving him a smile. "I'm Riku," he introduced, flashing his award winning smile, pearly whites all but glinting. She was like putty in his hands, now. No one could resist once he had decided he wanted to win them over. "I'm a friend of (y/n)'s. It's nice to introduce myself, Mrs. (y/l/n)."

  
"It's just Ms. (y/l/n)," she corrected kindly. "It's nice to meet you, Riku. I've never heard (y/n) talk about a boy before." Well, there were two feasible options. You could turn and run inside, or you could run to the other side of the island and start a new life with a new name, where no one had ever heard of you. The islands weren't accepting your offer of swallowing you up, so those were the only options you saw. You were debating between the two when you saw Riku turn to smirk at you.

  
"Oh really? She's never even mentioned me?" Your mom seemed to be thinking when she snapped her fingers, realization washing over her.

  
"Oh! Riku! You're the-"

  
"WOW MOM I THINK RIKU HAS TO GO NOW HE PROBABLY HAS HOMEWORK WHAT A SHAME OKAY BYE." You were screaming every word without pause as you walked forward and grabbed your mom's arm, yanking her inside by the elbow. When the door was finally shut, you slid down it, letting out a sigh of relief. You could faintly hear snickers outside, but they did nothing to match those coming from right in front of you. "Not a word," you warned, holding up a finger.

  
"What?! I think he's very sweet, (y/n). You could definitely do worse," she advised in a very motherly tone. You groaned as you stood.

  
"Moooom," you began, running a hand over your face. "He doesn't even like me like that!"

  
"Mmhmm," your mother mused, stepping into the kitchen. "I'm making grilled cheese for lunch before I go back to work, do you want one?" You brushed off your precious annoyance and followed her, nodding vigorously. Saturday lunches with your mom were one of your favorite weekly traditions. She usually had your school days off, which was another reason you couldn't wait to graduate and be done with it all.

  
\---

  
After lunch and kissing your mom goodbye, you slowly made your way back up to your room. Maybe if you tried to take an actual nap your dreams would be safe and you wouldn't wake up more tired than you'd gone to sleep. Upon entering, however, you realized that was nothing more than a pipe dream. A certain redhead was standing inside, going through your makeup collection.

  
"Axel?" you asked, more confused than afraid. He lifted his head to acknowledge you before opening an eyeliner pen. Noting it was black, not brown, he put the pen cap back on. "Uh, not to be rude, but how did you get in here?" Wordlessly again, the flame thrower stood and flicked his wrist. Tendrils rose from your floor before enveloping it in darkness, giving a foyer to a door shaped darkness. "Right," you nodded, walking to your bed-avoiding the darkness-and sitting.

  
The darkness evaporated and Axel leaned against your wall, arms crossing. His piercing gaze met yours and you genuinely almost shifted back, feeling like you'd...wounded him, somehow. "You have a keyblade?" You nodded slowly, glancing down at your hands.

  
"I mean, I guess. That was the first time I'd ever seen it."

  
"Bring it back."

  
Your head flew upwards, brows furrowed. Axel was still standing a ways away, but his expression had shifted slightly. Nothing enough to meet his eyes, which looked nearly dead, but enough to where his face showed a sense of curiosity.

  
"I can't." Your head shook when you spoke, wanting nothing more than to just be able to pull a keyblade out of thin air. "I don't know how."

  
"It's easy," Axel encouraged, standing up straight. His eyes closed, and within an instant, he had his hands full with chakrams. "You just have to want it. Try it." You tore your eyes away from his weapons and let out a deep breath. You reached your arm out, hand wide open, wishing with all your might to see the keyblade again. A presence flickered in your palm, but nothing solid enough to grasp. You opened your eyes and groaned.

  
"I can't," you repeated. "I'm sorry." Axel considered this for a moment before taking a couple steps closer to you.

  
"Maybe you just don't want it bad enough." You tilted your head to the side, wondering what he meant. But he made his intentions clear. Within a moment, his weapons were flaming and he was lunging forward, aiming for your throat. You screeched and threw yourself back against the mattress, weight falling on top of you. The sound of metal on metal and heavy pants caused you to open your eyes. A sea blue key was sticking between the spikes on Axel's chakrams.

  
"Get OFF me!" You screamed, using all your might to throw the redhead off you. Your heart was pounding as you looked down to the keyblade, the object that had just saved your life. Axel thumped unceremoniously to the ground next to you, his back against your bed.

  
"Gimme a break, I wasn't gonna kill you," he laughed. "Nice instincts, though, MC." He reached back and pulled the key from your hand, causing you to blink. He inspected it closely, turning it over in your hands. You were annoyed, mainly because you really were getting sick of all the danger you'd been put in so far today and the sun wasn't even beginning to set yet, but also because you'd never gotten a chance to look it over either. You slid down to sit next to him and elbowed him in the side, grabbing the weapon back in your hands.

  
"Maybe next time warn me before you almost slit my throat?" you barked, glaring at him.

  
"Like that would've worked." His eyes rolled as he pulled the keyblade back so it was sitting in the middle of the both of you. You took a good look at it for the first time, admiring its beauty. The handle was a sandy beige with flecks of darker brown, giving it the illusion of being an actual beach. As it went on, the colors melded into a bubbly white briefly before turning into the color of the sea. The blade itself gave the appearance of rolling waves. From the end dangled a keychain, a mint seashell attached at the end.

  
"Wow..." you breathed out, reaching your fingers out to brush over the weapon. As the pads of your fingers touched cool metal, you swore you could feel a pulse. This was yours. It was made for you. When you were done admiring it, you felt eyes on you. Axel had been watching you marvel over your new possession for at least thirty seconds now, smirking at how such a simple thing made you react. You were easy to please, he was noticing. When you caught his gaze, his expression hardened. The keyblade disappeared, ready to be summoned back whenever you needed it again.

  
"You gotta be careful with that, and who you trust. Those things bring nothing but trouble," Axel warned, being serious for one of the rare moments in his life. You listened intently, nodding to show you understood.

  
"Do you have one?" you asked, curious as to how he knew so much. He suddenly looked at the wall in front of him, eyes unblinking.  
"No. But I had a friend who did." You decided not to press the issue further. The past tense wasn't something you thought he would want to delve into with someone who was practically a stranger.

  
"Thank you," you said instead, reaching over and putting your hand over his gloved one. With a gentle squeeze and a smile, he looked back to you, pulling his hand back. Honestly, there was so much you didn't know yet. You were still trying to convince yourself that this was real life and not some fever dream. But you were taking it in stride and willing to accept any bit of advice you could.

  
"Yeah, yeah. Listen, MC, I'm pretty sure I was promised a delicious meal the next time you saw me. And there I was, out there trying to save your neck again this morning. You owe me big time, got it memorized?" You rolled your eyes and stood, motioning for him to follow suit.

  
"Come on, then. I don't keep gourmet meals in my room." You didn't? That's where Axel stashed food. If he didn't, it'd get snatched up by one of his roommates in thirty seconds flat. He followed you out of your room and down the stairs to the kitchen. You could feel heat radiating from behind you the whole time and assumed it had to do with his fire ability. "Have a seat over there." You nod to one of the stools at your bar, to which Axel happily obliged. "You're not lactose intolerant, are you?"

  
"Am I what?"

  
"Good." The ingredients for grilled cheese were already stacked neatly in the fridge and it was just so easy to make, anyway. Two slices of cheddar cheese, sourdough, garlic salt, and parmesan crumbled on top later, you presented a pretty delicious looking sandwich for the nobody. Not as good as your mom's, but definitely still pretty tasty. "Bone app the teeth!" You beamed, sliding the plate in front of Axel.

  
Truthfully, he hadn't eaten all day. When he had disappeared from your impromptu battle earlier, he'd camped out in your room to clear his head. You reminded him too much of Roxas for a moment, and he wasn't ready to deal with the fact that there was a near keybearer in the world to replace his best friend. He grabbed half the sandwich hungrily and took a bite, shooting you a thumbs up. You held up your index finger.

  
"I have questions." Axel groaned with food still in his mouth, his eyes rolling. "Nothing bad!" After swallowing, he shot you a miniature glare.

  
"What."

  
"Does every nobody have to wear that?" Alright, you caught him off guard. He started laughing. Hard. Your cheeks heated a little at his reaction. It was a valid question! Or was it common knowledge. "Stooop!" you whined. Axel finally calmed down, shaking his sandwich at you.

  
"HAVE to? Only the cool kids GET to. Not everyone can handle this level of fashion." his hand tickled the chains at his chest before ruffling his hood. He took another bite of his grilled cheese as he finished his answer. "Only Organization XIII." You opened your mouth but were cut off. "Before you ask, I'm not entirely certain what it is. I'm in it, and what I know is our leader, Xemnas, is trying to complete Kingdom Hearts so we can all get ours back and be whole again. That's where you and your pals come in."

  
He finished off half the sandwich while you thought that one over. It'd been a doozy. Kingdom Hearts. That was a horrible name for anything. Promising yourself you'd ask Riku more about it later, you pressed on. "Okay, so you don't have hearts."

  
"Nope."

  
"And because of that, you can't feel emotion."

  
"Nope."

  
"That doesn't make sense! Emotion doesn't even come from the hearts, it's created in the brain. Besides, Demyx seems pretty happy all the time. Don't you think that-"  
"No, that's not how it works,"[1] Axel spoke coldly, dropping the remainder of his food on the plate while still staring at it. You could tell you hit a nerve. "Nobody's can't feel anything. It's impossible. They can have phantom emotions, memories of what feeling was from when they were whole. But none of us are ever truly happy." Your heart was breaking, tears forming in your eyes. It wasn't like the words Axel spoke weren't miserable enough, but the toneless voice in which he said them was just...too much.

  
"I'm so sorry," you mumbled, staring at your hands that were placed on the countertop across from your visitor. In an instant, Axel's usual sideways smile was back on his face, his voice carefree.

  
"Can't miss what you never had, right?" You felt horrible. He went back to eating like nothing had happened, moving past it. You took a big breath, putting on a brave face.

  
"Is it good?" you asked, grabbing his empty plate and placing it in the sink. Axel shrugged, dusting off his gloves.

  
"I've had a lot worse," was all he said, but he shot you a wink. Your eyes rolled playfully.

  
"Hey, Axel?" you heard his casual 'hmm' to ensure he had heard you. "We're friends, right? Like...you wouldn't have actually killed me earlier?" Well, if he wanted to be honest, if you hadn't pulled that keyblade out you might've never made him that sandwich, but that didn't change the fact that he knew you'd summon it.

  
"Just because I don't kill you doesn't mean we're friends, MC." You were growing on him. he'd never admit it to anyone, especially not to himself, but he had a soft spot for you. A very, very, tiny one, but he'd definitely hesitate before killing you, unlike how he'd react to most people he spent time with. Demyx, for example.

  
"Well," you sighed, tucking hair behind your ear, "You're my friend." The redhead eyed you curiously. What were you doing making such broad statements like that? he'd met you not more than three days ago, tried to kill you more than twice, and you considered him a friend? He shook the thoughts from his head. Figuratively, of course. Friends were too dangerous to have, He'd tried it a couple times, and the results were never anything like advertised. Dead, asleep, and completely changed.

  
"That's nice. I'll keep trying to not kill you." You laughed, walking over and slapping his arm. This caused him to smirk and laugh himself, grabbing the area you've hit. "If that's the way you hit, those heartless are gonna get you for sure. You're gonna need me to keep watching over you. You're gonna owe me a meal every day, now."

  
"Yeah, okay. You keep 'saving' me like you did today and I'm not gonna be here to cook for you!" Now it was his turn to push you lightly, the both of you sharing a good laugh.

  
"Keep yourself alive, kid. I got work to do. No more taking it easy on you," he warned, wagging a finger. You snapped your teeth playfully at the appendage, aiming to get it out of your face. Mission accomplished.

  
"I'm ready for anything you can throw at me," you spoke confidently. He hoped you were right, he thought as he summoned a portal. You were the only decent part of being assigned this gross duty.

  
\---

  
Saix's boots rebounded against the ground silently, muffled by the puddles caused by the rain that was always drizzling. His hood was drawn, hiding his blue locks and icy gaze. The Luna Diviner felt at home in The World That Never Was, but he hated making business trips such as these. Exactly as Xemnas's instructions provided, when he turned a corner, he found a man curled up on the side of the road. This was common ground for nobodies in this land, but this one was special. Power had been emitting from this nobody for a few days, and the superior decided he would serve more use being a part of the organization than waiting to be made into a dusk.

  
With a light kick to the man's leg, he stirred. "Awaken," Saix commanded, not in the mood to play around. The man opened his eyes and blinked a few times before seeing Saix's cloak. He knew the robes all too well. he stumbled back.

  
"No! I don't want to be one of those, I swear, I'll get off the streets!" he begged, panic displaying on his face. Saix's eyes rolled in his head but externally, his composure never changed.

  
"What's your name?" He didn't bother with assurances or comforts.

  
"I was never given one," the man stammered. Of course not. It wasn't rare here to never remember your original name. It didn't matter- he'd be needing a new one to establish himself as a member of the organization. Saix's hand raised and glided in front of the miserable man. Letters flew around him, rearranging themselves before spelling out "NUXCIEL" in blue font. Saix turned, already striding away.

  
"Let us depart, XV. Our superior wishes to meet you- and we must get rid of your miserable appearance first." Nuxciel stood, the area where his heart should be feeling tight. What was to come of him now?

\---

[1] ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what's awful? You literally have to kill all the remaining members of the Org before you can pass through proof of existence. That's fucked up. That fucked me up. I'm never gonna get over the tombstones.  
> -Minnie


	11. A Change is Brewing

Even though Axel had teleported directly to his room, there was another occupant inside.Seeing the grin on the blonde's face made the fire starter glare, eyes narrowed and lips pulled into an unpleasant sneer. "What do you want?" Axel asked flatly. So much for a post mission nap. Demyx was sitting on Axel's bed. He'd been there for a few minutes, now, and had quickly gotten bored with the lack of, well, anything to look at. The walls were barren and Axel had very few possessions. So, now that his intended guest had returned, Demyx was overjoyed.

  
"How cool is it that (y/n) has a keyblade, huh?" It was a big buzz in the stark white castle. A new keyblade wielder, a new person to help complete Kingdom Hearts. Axel scoffed, walking over to his closet and sliding his gloves off, getting ready to get more comfortable.

  
"Sounds like a lot more work for us. 'Cool' isn't the word I'd use to describe having another kid to babysit and deal with those damn heartless even longer than previously." Axel let it roll off his back like it didn't affect him one way or another.

  
"Yeah, but there hasn't been someone new to get a keyblade since Roxas," Demyx mused, not understanding why Axel wasn't making this into a big of a deal as it actually was. They could get their hearts back soon! Then they wouldn't have to do icky missions everyday and would be free to live their own lives.

  
Meanwhile, Axel had frozen. He had just started to close the drawer that now contained his gloves, but was caught off guard. Memories of the two of them played through his mind for a split second before the drawer was forcibly shut, making a louder noise than expected. "Kairi."

  
"Huh?"

  
"Kairi got her keyblade while Roxas was already asleep. Got it memorized?" Axel didn't even raise his finger for his signature line, getting more annoyed with the melodious nocturne with every moment.

  
"Oh...I guess you're right." Demyx scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not quite sure why Axel was in such a mood. Granted, he was always in a mood, but never this serious. He was expecting some light-hearted banter at most. Maybe he'd come at a bad time. Just as he was about to try to break the tension in the air, a voice sounded throughout the castle.

  
"A meeting has been called. Report immediately."

  
\---

  
Black clouds filled the room shortly after the announcement, but Xemnas's gaze straight forward did not falter. The chairs before him erupted with the remaining members of his organization reporting dutifully. They wore their hoods down, but the superior would know who was who even without the facial reminders, even if they hadn't been seated in the spots assigned to them. The nobodies before him all had their own personalities, all carried themselves in a different manner unique to themselves.

  
When the last portal had disappeared, Xemnas cleared his throat and began speaking. "There is a new keyblade wielder." It wasn't a question, but it also wasn't a report. He commented on this new development like it had been little more than a change of weather. Murmuring came from only Xigbar, Xaldin, and Luxord. It wasn't exactly news to any of the other nobodies.

  
"It appears both Axel and Demyx have met the girl. Axel himself saved her from his own disaster," Saix spoke coolly, giving a pointed glance in Axel's direction. Axel's arms crossed, glaring at the blue haired man harshly. Meanwhile, Demyx spluttered, not expecting to be called out so suddenly.

  
"Axel," Xemnas began, ignoring Demyx's noises of discomfort. "Tell me about how this came to be." Axel's eyes rolled, leaning back against his seat, head lolling to the side to address his superior.

  
"She's nothing special. Fell in with the other wielders on that miserable island, had her keyblade appear today. She'd probably kill herself before she killed a heartless," his voice was bored as he spoke, making plain the fact that he wished to be anywhere but there at the moment.

  
"That's not true! She killed one today" Demyx interjected, truly believing himself to be helpful. "Not only that, but the imposter likes her and tried to protect her." The water manipulator nodded after his sentence.

  
"How did a little brat even get a keyblade?" Xigbar injected into the conversation, clearly exasperated. "I mean, come on! Do they just hand these things out like candy now?"  
"Every wielder is chosen for a reason," Xemnas defended.

  
"My liege," Saix spoke next. "If one of the wielders has an attachment to her, do you not think it would be a good idea to capture her and use her as a form of bait?" Demyx's ears perked when he heard that and had to fight to keep his mouth from dropping, leaning forward in his seat. He had to restrain himself from jumping forward and screaming that it was a ridiculous idea. He knew if he did, he'd be called treasonous. Nearby, Axel's fists tightened, his jaw setting.

  
"...Perhaps," Xemnas agreed, giving it some thought. "But not yet." Some of the tension in the room was visibly lessened. "For the time being, we have our weapons. Xaldin, you are to go to the dungeons once we have completed our business here and begin training with our newest member. Find his specialty so that when it is time for him to be properly introduced, he will fit in." Xaldin gave a firm nod, while everyone besides Xemnas and Saix gave surprised blinks.

  
No one had joined the organization in a good while. Their numbers had shrunk significantly due to treasonry over the years and the idea of having someone new around was very interesting, to say the least. Xemnas cleared his throat once more, ending all whispered conversations. "Finally, we have an old ally awakening soon. It was a project Vexen left unattended. One that Saix was able to complete."

  
'Who?" Luxord spoke up, one of his blonde eyebrows raising suspiciously. He spoke for the masses, for at this point, nearly everyone had no idea what was going on with the organization. Xemnas gave a wicked grin, sitting a little taller.

  
"His name is Vanitas."

  
\---

  
"HYA!" You yelled out, throwing all your might into smashing a cardboard box. It crumpled to the ground, misshapen, as you gave a smile. Applause broke out behind you in three different speeds. You turned and bowed, standing in a graveyard of destroyed shoe boxes, cans- anything that you could whack the crap out of, really. You straightened up and twirled the wooden keyblade in your hand before resting it on the back of your shoulders, giving a smirk.

  
The fastest applause was coming from Sora, who was beaming from ear to ear. Kairi was doing tiny toe raises as she clapped, a smile to match her boyfriend's upon her features. Yuffie was whooping and hollering, showing her enthusiasm well. Riku clapped the slowest of all, but even he looked impressed. After your lunch with Axel you had gotten a call from Sora, who insisted you come over for training. You'd managed to summon your keyblade, but after you'd nearly cut your own head off with the thing, they suggested you practiced with something less painful first.

  
Finding out Yuffie was in on it all wasn't even that surprising, at this point. She didn't have a keyblade but made sure to reintroduce herself as "The GREAT ninja, Yuffie!" when you saw her.

  
"Wait a second," you started, walking back to the other side of Sora's backyard. "So, Yuffie, are you really from the other side of the Island?" Yuffie's nose wrinkled in disgust, shaking her head while her arms crossed.

  
"Of course not."

  
"The where are you from?" Other worlds had been mentioned in passing, but it still wasn't registering with you.

  
"I'm from Radiant Garden. They call it Hollow Bastion after Maleficent took over, though." The ninja sighed, reminiscing on the time in her youth when the village had been peaceful. They were working, though.

  
"And that's really another world? That's crazy..." you trailed off, thinking about how a world outside of your own could exist. This island was all you knew. Riku raised his hand, placing a few fingers under your chin and forcing your eyes up. After the shock of contact and how gentle his touch was, you looked towards the nights sky. It was still twilight, light streaming orange across the sky.

  
"Every star you see is another world," his soothing voice spoke, causing your eyes to widen.

  
'Wow..." you whispered, looking at all the stars. That carried with you. "Have you been to all of them?" He chuckled but the majority of laughter came from behind him.  
"Are you kidding? Riku? No, he's barely been to any!" Sora boomed, clutching his stomach and laughing.

  
"Hey! That's not true! It's not my fault I was...busy." Riku's brows furrowed, but Sora's eyes rolled.

  
"I've been to a lot, but anywhere close to all of them. There's too many." You smiled at this answer. Maybe you'd get to go visit one day. Your heart burned with the desire to see everything, now, and there was no way you could stifle that now that you knew it was an option.

  
"Yeah, but don't count on them to take you anywhere," Kairi spoke, an annoyed tinge to her voice. She crossed over to where you stood and crossed her arms, glaring at the boys, who had sheepishly started to look at the ground and scratch their necks. She turned to you to explain. "They never take me on their adventures or even tell me when they're leaving." You gasped and shared her glare at the boys now, crossing your own arms.

  
"Why not?" Sora opened his mouth to defend himself but you raised one finger to stop him. "And don't tell me anything about her being fragile because she's a girl and you have a hero complex and need to protect her to feel manly." Sora's mouth shut. That's what you thought. Yuffie's laughter broke your stalemate.

  
"I'll take you both around on adventures, sound good? Everyone happy?" With a look to Kairi and a simultaneous nod, you all started laughing.

  
"I gotta get home before it gets too dark," you say eventually, noting that the sun is becoming almost nonexistent and the street lights had come on.   
"I'll walk you," Riku offers, but you stop him.

  
"Don't, it's so far out of the way and I definitely don't need my mom to see me with a boy after dark," you explained with a roll of your eyes. A smirk appeared on Riku's lips, his crystal eyes winking. You playfully shoulder checked him, walking past.

  
"Come on, there's heartless out there, it's dangerous." In response, you focused all your thoughts on summoning your keyblade, grinning when you felt it's weight in your palm. You turned and slashed through a forgotten can, tearing the top half of it off immediately. Once done, you stood straight and cocked an eyebrow in Riku's direction. "Alright, alright. Text me when you're home." He pulled you into a quick hug which you happily returned, giving a tiny laugh. He squeezed you closer before letting you go completely.  
"Bye, Rikes. I'll text you when I get home, promise!" You turned and made your way down Sora's driveway, waving goodbye.

  
\---

  
You whistled as you walked, thrilled with the way your horrifying day had played out. You woke up petrified, calmed down, was terrified once more, then got to do some pretty cool training and learn about the existence of super cool secret worlds. Being a keyblade wielder was something very shocking, but you were falling in step pretty nicely. You just wondered how life was going to be back at school on Monday. Would Selphie know there was something off with you?

  
Honestly, she hadn't noticed anything that morning, though. Maybe you'd be fine. You decide to shoot her a text just to be safe, telling her a slightly modified version of how your mom had walked out on you and Riku holding hands earlier. As you were ready to slide your phone back into your back pocket safely, you heard a rustling in the trees.   
Your hair stood on end as you kept walking, picking up your pace. One more rustle and you'd had it. You spun about, summoning your keyblade. Just before it found purchase on your target, however, you halted the weapon. You gave a smile, lowering it to your side. "Oh, hey Demyx! Sorry, I thought you were a heartless." Demyx, for his part, was half crouching, hands up in defense, mouth dropped in a silent scream.

  
"Geez, (y/n)! Not everyone's out to kill you!" Demyx let out a breath of relief, standing up straight once more as he regained the breath in his lungs. You laughed, shrugging your shoulders gently.

  
"Hey, in my defense, I've been attacked by those little things more than your average girl. Why are you here?" you questioned, looking at him curiously.

  
"Oh, I...I got really bored, honestly. Wanted to see what you were up to," the blonde admitted sheepishly. You felt heat rush to your cheeks but quickly turned back towards the direction you had originally been walking in to hide it.

  
"Do you wanna walk me home, then?" Demyx nodded, unseen to you, but you both fell into step next to each other anyway. "So..." you began, causing Demyx to glance over at you.

  
"Huh?" _'Please don't ask me about the organization, my past, what we do, how that heartless found you this morning, where I live,_ wh _-'_ Demyx's thoughts were cut off by your own voice.

  
"What kind of gel do you use?" You ask. The question had been burning in your mind since you'd met him. Those spikes! They were so meticulous! But the long pieces in front swept so softly and ?????. Demyx laughed loudly, clearly worried for nothing.

  
"I don't use product! Who do you think I am?" He pretended to be offended, crossing his arms across his chest.

  
"Demyx, you're a dirty dirty liar and I," you exhale, reaching up on your tip toes. "Am gonna prove it!" You ran your hand through the blonde locks atop his head. Where you expected to be met with crispy spikes, you were met with soft peaks that bent under your touch, only to spring back up. "Wha-- there's no way!" you spluttered, pulling your hand back like you'd been burned. Demyx smirked confidently, staring straight ahead.

  
"Told ya," he sighs in a teasing voice. "What can I say? I was born lucky."

  
"Yeah, we should ALL be so lucky," you grumble. "Do you know how long it takes me to do anything with this mop?" You motion to the mess of hair hung about your face. You'd lost the fight today, and both you and your hair knew it.

  
"Aw, I think it's cute." Demyx nudges your cheek with his gloved fingers, making kissy faces. You smack the appendage from grasping range, rolling your eyes. He followed you around a corner, looking to the sky. "So you guys have a real moon here, huh," he muses, smiling to himself only.

  
"As opposed to what? Cheese?" You tease, chuckling, but stopping when you see the look on his face. You turn serious, brows turning inward. "Do you not have a moon where you're from." His head shakes.

  
"Not a real one."

  
"Do you like it?" It really was quite beautiful, when you looked at it. The stars-other worlds, you reminded yourself-shined so brightly beside it, that the night sky was simply breathtaking. Demyx wrapped an arm around your shoulders to pull you close to him. You were about to protest when he pointed to the sky, asking you to follow his gaze. Once you did, he spoke slowly.

  
"The moon is bright and controls the waves." His finger moved to point to the ocean ahead of the both of you. Your gaze shifted, still able to make out the crashing of waves against the sand even in the dark. "I love light. I love water. In fact, it's kind of my thing," he says, a smug edge to his voice.

  
"It is?" you questioned, craning your neck to see his side profile, illuminated in moonlight. Your breath caught when you noticed how beautiful this made him appear, how happy he was to speak about his passions. He gave a nod before tearing his gaze from the ocean, locking his bright eyes with yours instead.

  
"I never showed you?" your head shook side to side and he released you...to your disapproval. You hid that emotion behind a blank face as he stepped back and summoned his sitar.

  
"Oh! You had that earlier!" You note, pointing to it.

  
"Yeah, but you didn't get to see what I can do with it," he winked. His fingers strummed the strings, and suddenly you were both surrounded by an orb of water. You gasped, turning in a circle to admire its beauty. The chord played on and you stepped forward, holding your fingers out to touch the cool liquid. They did nothing to disturb its pattern.  
Before the first chord ended, Demyx strummed another. The water shifted, careful not to get either of you damp, and formed something like an ice sculpture. You watched in amazement as the water show continued on, accompanied by the wonderful music Demyx created. When he finished his song, the water simply disappeared. No crashes, no splashes, not even a hint of a reminder of what was once there.

  
"Demyx, that was so beautiful. You're amazing," you complimented honestly. You stared at him incredulously, in pure shock over the beauty you'd just witnessed. Demyx swallowed thickly, unsure what to think about the way the hollow cavity in his chest ached. His gaze was diverted to the ground.

  
"I don't know about that, but..." he mumbled sheepishly. "But, hey! We match!" His expression brightened back up. When you looked at him in confusion his eyes rolled, stepping forward. "Get that key back out."

  
"Oh, uh, I don't know if I can do it on command just yet," you admitted, scratching your arm. Demyx got closer still, then jumped, screaming right in your face. You shrieked in fear to match his and suddenly felt your arm gain weight. "Alright, nearly killing me is a surefire way to get it," you complained, slapping your free hand over your chest, trying to calm your rapidly beating heart.

  
Demyx paid no mind to this, simply sliding his sitar next to your keyblade. "See what I mean? Both are blue!"

  
"Oh!" you exclaimed, getting excited yourself. "You're right! We're twins!" You hold the keyblade up and touch it to his sitar but quickly pull back when sparks emit from between the two. Demx protects his weapon behind his back like it's a child, taking a step back.

  
"Alright, maybe not exactly," he admits, his sitar and your keyblade disappearing at the same time. You laugh and turn up the driveway to your house. One more thought had been bothering you.

  
"Hey, Demyx?" you begin, looking at the ground as you neared your door. Demyx turned his torso to you, humming an answer. He could just barely make out the top half of your profile. Your eyelashes were so long, you looked so...soft. Soft and pretty. Much like his hair. "We're friends, right?" The question caught the nobody off guard. He'd honestly never really had a friend before.

  
"I would imagine this is what friendship would be like," he agreed, nodding. "I definitely don't want you to die, and you're the one I came to when I got bored." You smiled, head lifting at his answer. Oh, scratch that, you were definitely prettier than his hair. Much, much prettier.

  
"Yeah?"

  
"Yep!"

  
"Good. You're definitely my friend, too, okay? You can come see me whenever you want." Wait, no no. "Well, maybe not when I'm around Riku or Sora. Maybe Kairi. Probably not Yuffie. Definitely not Selphie. Oh, and not my m-"

  
"Waaahhm too many names!' Demyx gripped the sides of his head, shaking it all out. "Why don't I just try when you're alone, okay?" You giggle, nodding.

  
"Sounds good." You arrive at your door and can hear noises inside, alerting you your mom was home. You turned to face your friend. "Listen, don't fall out of any trees when I'm not ar-even when I AM around. Don't be the dumb kid in horror movies and run after weird sounds. Do-"

  
"Are you giving me safety lessons?" Demyx asked, laughing. "Really?" You raised one eyebrow. Between the two of you- Demyx with his years of training, and you with one day, you were absolutely positive that you were smarter when it came to staying out of danger. Demyx sighed, giving in. "Fiiiine."

  
"Pinky promise?" You held your pinky out, waiting. Demyx groaned loudly, hooking pinkies with yours reluctantly. You leaned forward and kissed your index finger. He looked taken aback. "You always seal a pinky promise with a kiss. Come on, were you raised under a rock?"

  
"No, I was raised in a castle," Demyx answered, but leaned forward to kiss his index finger all the same. You seemed satisfied with this turn of events.

  
"Alright, I'll see you soon then in just as many pieces as I left you in," you say, waving goodbye. You slid through your door and closed it behind you, giving your mom no time to see anyone but you.

  
"Yeah, I can't wait," Demyx answers after you left. He wasn't sure his theory about nobodies having hearts being buried too deep to be prevalent in their lives was anything other than hogwash, but you were starting to make him think he wanted to find out for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took SO long to get this out because adult life happened, sorry about the wait, I hope you all love my water bby as much as I do!  
> Sidenote: I am the Worst(TM) at thinking of chapter titles  
> -Minnie


	12. Hot Chocolate & Waves

Nuxciel hit the ground so hard, he nearly bounced back up. Sweat poured down his face, his own heavy breaths filled his ears, and every inch of his body screamed for him to stop pushing himself. Spitting blood out onto the pure white floor, crimson now staining it, the nobody stood; shakily, albeit. While his hunched form was searching the room, a hooded figure popped out of literally nowhere in the sky, upside down. "Too slow!" The teasing voice called, shooting a volley of bb's towards Nuxciel.

  
The newly acquired organization member held his arms to cover his face but still winced with every hit. "Enough!" he all but begged his superior. They'd been training for at least three hours at this point, as they had the night before. Xigbar hadn't let his new charge rest until he physically couldn't move. Today, he knew he was training on aching muscles. In fact, the superior laughed, disappearing and reappearing in front of Nuxciel.

  
"No way, dude! How do you expect to fight against creatures of doom when you can't even dodge from me?" Xigbar summoned a gun, reloading it with bb's once more- nothing too hard that would seriously injure the nobody. Nuxciel's head shook, the sides clutched by his gloved hands. He couldn't take anymore.

  
"I said ENOUGH!" he screamed, his eyes closed tightly. Immediately following, Xigbar flew backward, propelled by an unknown force. His ears were ringing, and by the time he looked towards the 15th member of their group, several other things had fallen, the earth seeming to quake. The ringing in his ears gave him a headache, and this time it was his turn to cover his ears.

  
"Alright, ALRIGHT! JUST STOP MAKING THAT NOISE!" Xigbar screamed, trying to make himself heard over the deafening ringing. Nuxciel's eyes opened, instantly causing all sound to stop. The hall returned to silence...if you excluded Xigbar's panting breath. The annoyed superior started to stand up, stumbling a bit. "Alright, buddy. Take ten. Looks like you just found your element."

  
\---

  
You awake refreshed for the first time in a week or so. You sit up straight in bed, yawning and stretching, before cracking your back. As your feet fall onto the carpet, you grab your phone, catching up on the night's notifications. After all 5 of your lives on Garden Witch Saga were depleted, you angrily grumbled your way to the bathroom. You absolutely REFUSED to sink money into the app and pay for lives. Not after your bill had been $200 a couple months ago.

  
The warm water of the shower was so inviting and comforting. The cold water rinsing out your conditioner was absolutely not. As you grit your teeth and leaned back as far as possible to avoid water trailing down your back, you reminded yourself that soft hair came with a price. Once you were free of the ice prison and toweling your hair, you turned your radio on. Music flowed through your room and into the bathroom, causing you to hum along.

  
Oh, that's right! The music reminded you about Demyx, which reminded you that you had a question about your empty chested friends. You grabbed your phone after wrapping a towel about your body, opening up a new text to Sora.

  
**Y** : Hey Sora how can nobodies be alive if they don't have hearts?

  
You set the phone down while you get dressed for the day, deciding to actually be productive instead of just lounging in pajamas and wasting the Sunday. By the time you returned, you'd had a reply.

  
**S** : Uhh.....I don't know? o_o How?????  
 **Y** : Alright good chat bye

  
You sighed, opening up a different text folder.

  
**Y** : Hey Riku how can nobodies be alive if they don't have hearts?  
 **Y** : don't ask Sora he doesn't know

  
The response time was significantly shorter, you hadn't even had time to lock your phone before you could see him typing.

  
**R** : They aren't.  
 **Y** : I had two very much breathing and walking on my lawn yesterday morning  
 **R** : Doesn't mean they're alive.  
 **Y** : Like...zombies?  
 **R** : Lol  
 **R** : No, not like a zombie  
 **Y** : uuuugghhjhkhijfe explain.  
 **R** : They aren't supposed to exist in general, so they're not really alive. Just because they walk around like they're a complete person doesn't mean they are one.

  
Ouch. That was kind of harsh.

  
**Y** : I don't think I get it at all  
 **R** : hey pack us a lunch, I'm gonna take you to one of the islets and explain whatever you wanna know

  
Your heart fluttered, a pleased smile tickling your features.

  
**R** : Unless you have other plans, then forget about it

  
Your fingers had never typed faster.

  
**Y** : Nope not busy at all!!!! I'll meet you at the beach near my house in thirty?  
 **R** : See ya then

  
You locked your phone and immediately went back into your closet, picking something more suitable to wear. The sweatpants you wanted to go to the grocery store in wasn't really fitting your mood anymore. Instead, you pulled on thick black leggings, a long navy blue sweater dress, a black stretchy belt to go around your middle, and combat boots. (Ahem, no sand was getting anywhere near you today, thank you very much.) After placing a ponytail holder on your wrist for when the wind inevitably pissed you off, you skipped down the stairs and into your kitchen.

  
It was a simple meal, but peanut butter and jelly was a classic. You grabbed your token blue cooler and filled it with two sodas, two water bottles, the sandwiches, a bag of pre-popped kettle corn, and two thermoses of hot chocolate in case the sea breeze was extra chilly today. After grabbing the rest of your essentials-phone, keys, wallet-you made your way down to the beach closest to your house. It wasn't empty, but you couldn't miss the mop of silver hair shining by the pier.

  
"Hey, stranger, mind helping me here?" you asked, walking up behind him. Honestly, carrying the cooler and your essentials had proven somewhat difficult and you were way too forgetful to think about carrying a purse. Riku turned, grabbing the cooler in his hands.

  
"Christ, (y/n), you planning on feeding an army?" he teased, not expecting the weight.

  
"A good warrior is always prepared!" you explained, holding a finger up in defense. Riku's breathtaking blue eyes rolled as he shrugged for you to follow him, walking towards a boat.

  
"I rented it for the day." He placed the cooler inside before stepping in himself. You looked at the wooden...dinghy, you would say, skeptically.

  
"Which islet are we going to?" you questioned wearily. That thing didn't look like it could make it far. Riku pointed out behind him at an islet not terribly far away. You could make out distinctive trees and it was rather large. Okay, this thing could make it that far. You nodded, moving to step up into the boat. Riku grabbed your hand and elbow, assisting you so you'd have no way to fall. You thanked him and sat, reaching out to grab an oar. It was pulled away before you could, causing your eyebrows to turn in, glancing up.

  
"Like I'd let you do that. Relax, I've been coming here since I was 6." He sat, pulling the oars himself. He pushed the boat off shore, it rocking a little as it started floating freely.

  
"By yourself?" You questioned. His head shook.

  
"Sora's dad took us at first until he was sure we could do it."

  
"That's sweet," you giggled, looking out into the open water. You wondered if Riku's dad had ever come out with them, but decided not to ask. Some people didn't like being asked about their family. Shoot, if you could just leave before anyone asked about where your own dad was, you'd be much happier. You sat as still as possible, not wanting to fall out, even if the water was shallow below. "You still come out here pretty often?" you asked, eyes on the palm trees as the islet grew closer.

  
"Only when I really need to think," Riku offered, exhaling with each pull of his arms. "Selphie never mentioned it?" Your head cocked to the side. To be honest, Selphie never mentioned being friends with Riku previously at all.

  
"No, you used to play with her over here?" Riku shrugged, nodding to himself.

  
"It makes sense, she never remembered much after the heartless took the islands." Just then, the boat hit the sand and Riku hopped out, pulling the boat to the dock and tying it tightly. Well, you definitely had your first question locked and loaded. You stood shakily, trying to find balance. Before you could jump into the shallows, your world pitched. A tiny 'Eek!" flew from your lips as an arm curled underneath your knees, another at your back.

  
"What..? What just happened?" you spluttered, looking at the ground beneath you before up at the smirking silverette above you.

  
"Come on, you think I'm gonna let you get all wet? Grab the cooler." He nodded to the rectangle, which you scooped up as best as possible from your new height and placed on your stomach. Riku began walking ashore and your cheeks burned intensely. Once you were both safely on the warm sand, your boots were welcomed back to solid ground.

  
"Thank you," you mumbled, pushing hair behind your ear. An 'mhm,' was sounded as the both of you sat in front of each other, the cooler between you. You opened its white lid, revealing your feast. "Tada! It's PB&J!" you laughed, reaching out to grab the two baggies. "I also brought drinks and popcorn. I didn't know what you'd want.

  
"Oh man," Riku began, reaching out to grab one of the plastic bags. "I haven't had one of these in years." He pulled the sandwich out and took a bite, eyes closing while he chewed. A small smile played on his chewing mouth and you couldn't help but smile in relief as well. "Alright," he started after swallowing his first bite. "What do you want to know?"

  
"What did you mean when you said the island was taken by heartless? I don't ever remember seeing them before a couple days ago." You pulled your knees to your chest, the food was forgotten by you. Riku nodded a few times, taking another bite while he decided how to answer this in a sensitive manner.

  
"Well you wouldn't because you disappeared with it." And all sensitivity was thrown to the window. You made a confused face, a 'Huh?' dropping from your lips immediately. Riku quickly backtracked. "I mean- I guess-" he sighed, laying back on the sand, hands behind his head. "A few years back, Maleficent really screwed with all the worlds. She opened the doors between them and let her heartless run amock. When too many heartless overtook a world, it was submerged in darkness. Some survivors land in Traverse Town. That's where Sora went."

  
He looked up to make sure you were following along. When he saw you leaning forward, nodding for him to continue, he rested his head once more. "Personally, I landed in a place called Hollow Bastion...which ended up being Maleficent's stronghold." You gasp, interrupting him.

  
"That's so scary!" Your eyes are wide, imagining being thrust into a world where heartless breed. Riku shrugs, not really wanting to continue on, but forcing himself to anyways.

  
"Luckily for me, she decided she could make use of a naive little kid with too big of an ego for his own head." He chuckled bitterly. "She u-no, I let her use me. I caused a lot of people a lot of pain. I told myself I was doing it to save Kairi."

  
"What happened to her?" you whispered, inching a little closer.

  
"I actually don't know. All I know is suddenly Maleficent was telling me she was missing her heart. So I did everything I could to try and get one back for her. I couldn't have guessed Sora had it the whole time. I let myself be consumed by the darkness. I had no hope of helping anyone- not myself or Kairi. Probably made life an extra living hell for Sora." By this time you had completely gotten to Riku's side and were lying beside him on your side, propping your head up on your elbow.

  
"I'm so sorry," you murmured, unsure of what to do for him. Riku studied your face for a few moments before chuckling once more.

  
"You're so weird, (y/n). I just told you I was working for the bad guys and you wanna say you're sorry. I don't think that's how it works." Your head shook as much as possible while still being held up.

  
"You're here now, fighting for light. I don't think you were ever a bad person, Riku. You said yourself that you ended up in Hollow...Basting?"

  
"Bastion."

  
"Bastion. While Sora ended up somewhere else. Don't you think if the roles had been reversed you'd have a whole different story?" Your theory definitely made him think for a second, but he quickly dismissed it.

  
"No. I always had darkness in me," he finally spoke, venom in his voice directed at himself.

  
"I like that about you," you spoke up, eliciting a confused look. "It's because you have darkness in your heart and still choose to be a soldier of light that makes you a hero." Riku snorted at your choice of words but otherwise didn't argue. No one had really sat down and talked to him like that, never argued with him on his own self-hatred. He didn't want to shoot it down with another cold fact yet. If (y/n) wanted to think that...he might let her.

  
"Anyways, like I was saying, the islands disappeared. I think Sora, Kairi, and I were the only ones who actually got off. Either that or no one remembers it. No one remembers the island disappearing in general. Not even you." His head turned to smirk at you slightly and your eyes widened in shock. That was certainly...something.

  
"No, I definitely don't remember that." You flipped onto your back, letting your own head rest on the sand beneath you. Your hands folded over your chest, your thumbs fiddling as you tried to think of any blank spots in your life. "Oh! Could that be why my childhood is kind of fuzzy?"

  
"Yeah, I think so. not everybody made it back, so if you have memories with someone who disappeared forever, I think the memories would disappear too." You let out a deep breath, keeping your gaze off the sun. People disappearing forever...and you couldn't remember a moment of it.

  
"That's really sad to think about. How long was the island gone?" you ask, your head turning to rest on its side so you could keep a good eye on Riku.

  
"Maybe a week or two," he shrugged, suddenly sitting up. He grabbed a water bottle and took a sip before continuing. "Sora fixed what I was screwing up pretty quickly. Then Kairi came back to the island, and other people started appearing, she said."

  
"How long did it take you to get back?" His jaw stiffened and you patiently awaited his response, understanding it was probably going to be a tough one.

  
"Over a year." The breath in your lungs shot out quickly, shock plaguing your expression. That's horrible! You couldn't even try to imagine being away from home for a month, let alone a year! You sat up and quietly rubbed his arm, letting him know you were there if he wanted to talk more about it. "It was because of those organization guys, you know," he said coolly, looking directly into your eyes. Your heart sank at the news.

  
"Demyx and Axel...?" Your voice wasn't more than a whisper.

  
"Maybe not directly them, but their group. They really screwed Sora up. Stole his memories, created replicas from them, played with his mind. He had to go to sleep for a year to get them back." Your heart broke with every word. Before you knew it, your hand fell from Riku's arm and into the sand, making a light fist. That was...the worst thing you could think of. Having someone use your own memories against you...it's an actual nightmare you've had before. "I don't want you involved with that, (y/n)." Your gaze fell to your knees, nodding. "They might seem friendly but they have bad plans. They brought the heartless. Don't forget that."

  
"I haven't," you finally spoke, your voice wavering. Tears were the biggest plague in your life. If you could get rid of one thing forever, it'd easily be your tear ducts. In a second, you felt n arm around your shoulders, pulling you in closer. You looked up at Riku, but he was looking out at the ocean.

  
"I know it seems scary right now, but you're strong enough to handle this. We all have to protect each other; you, me, Kairi, Sora, and Yuffie, too." You nodded, knowing he was right. Your tears rimmed your waterline but thankfully never fell, and a sniffle or two later you were fine. Your arm reached out just enough to reach the cooler, not wanting to leave Riku's warm embrace. You looped a finger through both rings on the cups of the thermoses and tugged them towards you. Handing one to Riku, you smiled.

  
"It's hot chocolate. Made with milk, not water, because I love myself." Riku laughed and opened his, taking a sip. After seeing him swallow you followed suit. You know, earlier this week, not only would you never imagine you'd have more than one singular friend-let alone the guy you had a sorta-crush on-but a new group of friends, learn about the existence of other worlds, and that you were the chosen savior to protect them all. It was more likely than not that you'd just gone off the deep end and were imagining all of this. But...at the same time, this felt right. Good, even.

  
The keyblade felt good in your hand, you had a strong swing, and you took everything in stride. Only once did you even consider laughing in everyone's faces and transferring to home studies/nope-ing away from the whole situation. You had a lot to think about-including your friendship with the nobodies that had apparently wreaked havoc on Riku and Sora's lives. But for now? For now, you were just content enough to enjoy the view of the waves, side by side with your new battle partner, hot chocolate shared freely between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LITERALLY WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO FINISH THE LAST 500 WORDS IF I EVER TAKE THAT LONG AGAIN SOMEONE PLEASE PUNCH ME THANKS BYE  
> -Minnie


	13. Day Off

The sun was ready to set now; orange and pink bleeding across the sky. The cooler was now empty aside from a few wrappers and empty bottles, and you had to stifle a yawn. Riku had decided that he wanted to climb one of the ridiculously tall trees on the far side of the island, causing you to worry like a mother whose baby could have the measles. Of course, the man had shimmied up the tree no problem somehow, but that meant nothing to your worry-ometer.

  
"Alright, you can sure climb that tree! Proved me wrong! You can come down now!" you called up before nervously chewing on your thumbnail. One misstep and he could come crashing down and break his back.

  
"I'm fine!" you heard from above, followed by a laugh. Your eyes rolled as you leaned against a different tree, arms crossing with a pout. Then it happened. You saw a flash of silver and leaned forward, eyes wide, ready to catch the falling object, but it was too late. In fact, it was impossible to do any saving in general. Riku stood right before you, completely unscathed.

  
"Wha-how did you...?" You pointed from the tree to him but got no answer.

  
"Look what was up there." Riku tossed something at you, you narrowly managing to catch it.

  
"A paopu?" You looked at him, confusion marking your features. Riku nods, crossing his arms.

  
"Best there is out here. Go ahead, try it." You laugh, pushing the fruit back at him.

  
"No way! I'll get you a clean one at the store tomorrow if you want one that bad, okay? You don't need to be eating something dirty. And I'm definitely not about to get sick over dirt." Riku sighed, tossing the fruit behind him. "It's getting dark, shouldn't we be getting home?"

  
"Yeah, probably. Come on, I know a shortcut," he smirked. You had no time to react- as he grabbed your hand and started running to a few climbable cliffs. "Consider this your training," he adds as he starts hopping up onto them. You take a deep breath and follow suit...much less gracefully than the leader. Eventually, you make it up to another paopu tree, you huffing and puffing. "Through here." He placed a hand on your back, guiding you into a cave.

  
"If some spider bites me I'm never speaking to you again, I swear to God," you grumble, reluctantly leading the way. You hear chuckles behind you as you take timid steps. Before long, you see light again. You nearly tumble over the edge as you realize the exit drops you off without a path. "Oh, great. Now what?" you ask, crossing your arms. Riku smirks again, once again sweeping you up in your arms. "CAN YOU NO-AHHH!" Your scolding is cut off as Riku jumps down and onto the sand, your hands flying to cover your face.

  
The feeling of falling is over in a millisecond and you wearily uncover your eyes."You don't trust me," Riku points out, shaking his head teasingly. You manage to flip your way out of his arms and scramble up onto your feet, immediately grasping the closest small stick and whacking him with it repeatedly.

  
"Can! You! Not! Pick! Me! Up! Every! Three! Seconds! And! Stop! Jumping! Off! High! Things?!?!" You brought the stick down with every word, but to your displeasure, it's extremely flimsy, and Riku is laughing.

  
"I'm done, I'm done!" he insists, holding his hands up in defeat. He starts walking to the cooler so he can bring it back to the boat, you stomping along behind him. "You know, if you wanted it to do harm you could've used the keyblade." And now you were angrier. Not at yourself, but at him for suggesting it before you could think of it. You spluttered for a minute, not sure what to do with your righteous anger, and it subsided into just blowing a raspberry at him.

  
\---

  
You woke up the next morning to the sound of your alarm pounding your eardrums. You'd reached the point where the snooze button wouldn't even work anymore. You groaned as you ripped the plug from the wall, effectively shutting the screeching off. With a smile, you cuddled further into your pillow. This weekend had been a hell of a time and school just wasn't happening today. You drifted back to sleep in no time at all, a satisfied smile still on your lips.

  
\---

  
When you woke again, three hours had passed, and the bags under your eyes were significantly less visible. You clenched your eyes shut and stretched out all your limbs, groaning with satisfaction. This was already a good idea, you decided. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up," a bored sounding voice said. You immediately rolled out of bed, landing on your feet. (You didn't stumble at all. Not once. Nope, not you, not today.) Your keyblade was poised at the ready as your eyes darted around the room, your vision still blurred with sleep.

  
Laughter caught your attention and you looked to the doorway to your bathroom, where a certain nobody was standing, his arms crossed. You dropped your keyblade upon seeing Axel, letting out a huff of air and rubbing your eyes. "I swear to God, I'm gonna end up killing one of you if you all keep scaring me like this," you grumbled, running your hands through your hair after feeling the keyblade disintegrate. "What the hell are you doing in my room, anyway?"

  
"Imagine my surprise when I've been given the task of watching the new key bearer and she doesn't show up for her regularly scheduled schooling. What's a guy to do but make sure she's still alive and able to play a part in our little game, right?" Axel told the story with mock emotion, heavily relying on hand movements as usual. Your eyes rolled so far you thought they'd disappear behind your skull forever. You walked past him and started the process of brushing your teeth.

  
"So I'm big headline news now huh?" You ask while squeezing the toothpaste out. "Got my own security guard and everything?"

  
"Let's get one thing straight," Axel began, shaking his head while holding a hand up. "I am under no circumstances a security guard. I'm here to make sure you don't kick the bucket until they want me to dispose of you. Capeche?" You spat the toothpaste back out into the sink and washed your mouth out before walking out of the bathroom, tapping your palm against his chest as you went.

  
"Okay, sweaty." You could find absolutely no reason to be afraid of the man behind you. Not after he saved you originally. The fiery redhead was trying to connect your words together, but you were making your way back to your bed, noticing a note placed on top of your alarm clock for the first time. You unfolded it and smiled at the words written in your favorite handwriting.

  
"Sleep it off, senior. Just this once! I have to run a few work related errands today, so the least you can do is get a few things from the grocery store. Munny is in the kitchen.  
-Mom"

  
Attached was a post-it note of a small shopping list. Just the basics, nothing you couldn't handle on your own. After pulling the post-it off, you reached for your cell phone and scrolled through the massive amount of texts you've acquired.

  
Riku: You alright, small fry?

  
Yuffie: Literally I am not pretending to be a student for you not to be here. You SUCK.

  
 **Selphie** : WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME I HATE YOU  
 **Sora** : (y/n) T_T where are you T_T Riku won't leave me alone!!  
 **Kairi** : Riku didn't kill you yesterday right?  
 **Riku** : Kairi thinks I killed you, please text her back.  
 **Selphie** : CLASS IS SO BORING YOU BETTER BE COUGHING UP A LUNG I AM COMING OVER THERE AFTER SCHOOL WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

  
You laughed to yourself and responded to each text individually, assuring your friends that you were alive and healthy, just ditching for the day. You were about to put your phone down when it buzzed again.

  
 **Selphie** : I will see you dead with my own hands.

  
"Is this all you're going to do all day?" Axel asks, already bored with your room. You didn't know how long he'd been there, but you wagered at least an hour and a half if he'd taken notice you weren't at school.

  
"Do you wear normal clothes underneath that?" You asked, tilting your head. Axel started for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, a smirk on his lips as he reached out to touch a picture on your wall. The expression suited his features so nicely- like it was meant to be there permanently. You almost wanted to take a picture of the scene before you...he was marvelous.

  
"My, my, MC, I never thought you'd ask such a bold question." Your cheeks flushed and you chucked a pillow at his frame, which he caught without looking away from the wall.  
"You know DAMN well I'm not trying to slide into your DM's, fire boy." You ignored the sound of Axel's laughter. "If you have to follow me around and you're wearing a bathrobe you're gonna stick out like a sore thumb."

  
"I don't carry around spare clothes, MC." You sighed and rubbed your temples. Of course, not. "But I know how to get some." Your head shot up just in time to see Axel's leg disappearing through a portal. You walked to where the portal had just been, wondering just WHERE in the hell he had disappeared to. Those swirling black masses had enraptured you since you'd first seen one. In record time, another appeared. No one came through- it was just...there. nervously, you put your hand through it, retracting it immediately after having the sensation of being plunged into ice water.

  
"Christ on a stick," you muttered, doing a once over to make sure you didn't have some form of frostbite. Not long after, Axel walked through, holding two clothing garments. You raised one lone eyebrow at him, a sinking feeling in your stomach. "You paid for those, right?" you ask in a monotone voice.

  
"Sure, we can say that. Now, are you going to tell me somewhere I can get changed? Or should the both of us just strip down right in fr-"

  
"THERE'S A BATHROOM ATTACHED TO MY ROOM SO THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL BE," You yelled, standing behind Axel and shoving him across the threshold that attached your bathroom to your main room, yanking shut the blackout curtains. With a huff of breath let out, you set out on getting dressed. On the other side of the curtain, Axel was laughing, unzipping his organization robe and letting it fall, leaving him in only pants and boots.

  
"Alright, I'm done. Comin' out!" he called, clearly aiming to mess with you. When he heard the expected stumbling noises, he smirked, pulling on a black wife beater.   
"I don't think so!" Add a red flannel, and he almost looked normal.

  
"Here I coOoOoOme," he continued to tease, looking himself over in the mirror. Honestly, he hadn't worn normal clothes since joining the organization. he didn't look that bad.

  
"I will literally impale you with my keyblade," you growled, yanking your bra straps into place. After tugging on your red v-neck, you finally let out a breath of air. "Alright, you can come out now," you finally allowed. But immediately after he showed his face, he burst into laughter, your face deadpanning. You looked like twins. You genuinely were wearing the same top color, complete with your leggings and combat boots. "Get back in there I'm changing right now immediately."

  
"Nope! Let's go!" He hooked his hand around your upper arm, pulling you out of your room. You whined and protested, but were soon unhappily walking towards the grocery store. Axel seemed happy-go-lucky at the accidental twist in events. Every now and then he'd summon a heartless for you to kill ("Hey! I'm just doing my job!"), but his flames were extinguished, chakrams tucked away.

  
By the time you arrived at the nearest grocery store, you had broken a sweat and were mildly annoyed. "I should've just let you watch from the trees again," you sighed, grabbing a hand basket. Axel was snickering next to you, arms crossed.

  
"This is much easier and technically in the description of my mission today. Not even Saix could complain," Axel mused, following behind you. It felt almost strange to be so openly visible to the population, seeing as he spent most of his days shrouded in the darkness. He wouldn't say he was enjoying the feeling...but it wasn't miserable. He was having an out of body experience, almost. He wrinkled his face, clearing his thoughts while you tried to pick out a loaf of bread.

  
Truthfully, your mind was wandering also. The decision between sourdough or wonder bread wasn't really too difficult. Your thoughts had trailed off to remembering what Riku had told you about the nobodies yesterday. Noticing Axel waiting for you, you grabbed the sourdough and placed it in your basket, walking off without a word. The redhead followed you, one eyebrow raised. He reached down, grabbing the basket from your hand. "Huh?" you question, shocked at the loss of the object.

  
"You keep daydreaming like that and you're gonna knock something over with this thing," he offers as an explanation. You give a small grin and thank him, heading towards lunch meats.

  
"So, um, what's it like?" you try to ask nonchalantly.

  
"Care to specify?"

  
"Not having a heart." It wasn't the real question you wanted to ask, but it might segue into an easier conversation. Axel shrugs, bored already.

  
"Not much to compare it to."

  
"You don't have any memories from...before?"

  
"Well," he said, puffing out a breath. "I guess I have little flashes here and there. Phantom emotions."

  
"What were you like before?" You both were starting to walk laps around the store at this point.

  
"I think I was just about the same as now. Maybe a little less murdery, less flamboyant," he smirked, showing a flame small enough that only you could see.

  
"Do you like working for the organization?" That knocked him speechless. He could feel flashes of memories, ghosts of promises, forgotten friendships.

  
"I have to." His voice was almost silent.

  
"Huh?"

  
"Can we quit it with the interrogation mood? I can think of a couple ways to keep you busy if you're bored." Your eyes rolled as you dropped a jar of peanut butter into the basket Axel still held.

  
"I'm not fighting a heartless in the middle of the store!" you complained. Axel's hand grabbed yours as you retracted it from the basket, causing you to look up and directly into his seafoam eyes, noting the close proximity.

  
"That's not the only way to keep you busy," he spoke. you could feel the exhale of his breath on your lips and swallowed the lump in your throat. Before you could snap back at him, a voice disturbed your thoughts.

  
"(y/n)!" You pulled yourself so far back from Axel that your back hit the shelf, causing you to groan. Axel, for his part, stayed perfectly still.

  
"Ugh...MOM WHATCHA DOIN HERE?" The second your eyes focused, you went into full panic attack mode. Your mom's eyes were wide, a shocked smile on her face.

  
"Well, I was going to text you that my plans changed and I could do the shopping, but I see you have that covered..." Her eyes darted to the basket in Axel's hands before smiling and nodding. Axel's grin got wider and wider with every passing moment, and you started mentally begging him to just stay shut up.

  
"Oh, you're mom! How nice to meet you!" Axel began, using a voice far too cheery for himself. This was...going to be hell. "Don't worry we got shopping covered. I'm Axel, it's so nice to finally meet you," he added, holding his hand out. Your mom gently took it and shook it with her own, brows furrowing when she felt how warm his skin was.

  
"Axel? It's...nice to meet you. (y/n) never mentioned you before," she said, eyes darting to you, Your head was in your hand at this point- just willing to let the situation play out. Axel was tutting, reaching out to ruffle your hair.

  
"Careful, (y/n), you could hurt my feelings." Your head snapped up, ready to chew him out, but your mom cut you off.

  
"Well, this has been fun. I'll leave you two be, then. Axel, will we see you for dinner?"

  
"No, actually he has to g-"

  
"I'd love to. It'd be rude of me to refuse, (y/n). We'll be home soon, then, mom." Your mom nodded and said her goodbyes, leaving the both of you alone again. You swiftly kicked his shin, hard. He grabbed it, laughing overtaking any pain he felt while he hopped.

  
"I'm gonna run you through with my keyblade," you threaten, blush creeping up your cheeks. "That's the second guy she's seen me with in two days."

  
"Careful, you're gonna get labeled as the town harlot soon here," he joked, laughter shaking his every word. H ignored your glare, continuing down the aisle. "Come on, we got a couple things to do before dinner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay.......so I know it's been two weeks....but I swear life happened. My nephew was born (!!!) and work and...bottom line, I'm setting up an upload schedule! Expect an update schedule every Sunday starting Sept 24th! In addition to that, would anyone want to see playlists inspired by each character? ((((((i'm uploading them anyways so i hope u do))))))  
> -Minne


	14. How Did it End Up Like This

You watched the retreating back of a certain fiery redhead, huffing out a breath as you decided that you had to follow him, after all. You weren't exactly sure how he had weaseled his way into more free food from you, or into your family events, for that matter, but it was a moot point, now. He was a part of it and there was no getting around it. "Hey, MC," you heard from in front of you, causing you to walk a little faster to keep up with your friend. You made a noise to assure you were listening and allowed Axel to continue. "Do they sell CD's here?"

  
"What? You do music?" You ask, genuinely shocked. You hadn't even thought about a nobody listening to music. Demyx PLAYING music should have been a major tip-off, but you digress. Axel snorted, shaking his head.

  
"Just how lame do you think I am? I like finding what each world listens to if I get the chance. The sound varies from place to place." That...was a really good point.   
"Yeah, they do electronics in the back." You started to lead the way, grabbing a tub of cookies from an island as you went. Axel sounded off behind you.

  
"Thought so. Walplex has stores in every world." You rolled your eyes but were secretly kind of impressed that a grocery store was intra-world. Finally, your duo reached the electronics section and you raised an arm to display the beauty as if you were Vanna White.

  
"Welcome to the high-tech section of the store. Our tour takes a brief stop here before finishing the grocery shopping and getting dinner over with as soon as possible. Enjoy your stay!" You used an overly peppy voice, acting as a guide. Axel's eyes rolled and his hand clapped your shoulder as he passed by.

  
"Thanks, dear. Find me in ten minutes." Annnnnd...he was gone.

  
"Of course, honey," you grumbled, looking around for yourself. You had quite a bit of munny lately. (Hey, thanks, heartless.) Why not waste a bit on stuff you didn't need? You browsed the personal devices section until an mp3 player caught your eye. nothing too fancy, no apps, but it definitely played music. You could think of a few people who needed the simplicity. Certainly not you, you had your phone for that. You grabbed a couple off the hook before setting off to find Axel.

  
He was standing with headphones over his ears, his eyes closed lightly, swaying his head as he hummed along to the music. Not wanting to disturb him, you sat at one of the chairs, waiting for him to finish. He looked really in his element, and you wonder what his life would be like if he wasn't a nobody. You could see him working at a record shop, tattoos lining his skin and a beanie slicking down that mess of hair. That being said, you could see him being the one to give tattoos himself. On the opposite side of the spectrum, it was also easy to imagine him working at an animal shelter as a nurse.

  
Once Axel;s eyes opened, he smirked down at you. "What are you smiling about?" he questioned. You shrugged, not having realized you were grinning in the first place.   
"Thinking about dinner," you lied smoothly, sliding the players into the basket he still held.

  
\---

  
"Well, mom, I gotta hand it to you," Axel began, holding a meatball on the end of the fork he pointed towards your mother. "You make some mean spaghetti." Your mom laughed, smiling and bowing her head slightly.

  
"Thank you, thank you. It's a recipe I've perfected over all my nearly 18 years being a mom," she responded. The general mood at the table was a happy one. Once you'd finished up the shopping and gotten home, your mom had been elbows deep in kneading together meat and seasoning. You'd jumped into helping her after setting some music up on a bluetooth speaker to keep everyone entertained. Axel had sat and watched, keeping lively banter. And now all three of you were sat at your dining room table that had always been too big for just you and your mom, anyway.

  
"So, Axel. I've never seen you before," your mom stated. "Why is that?"

  
"He's from the other side of the island," you answered smoothly so Axel wouldn't have to. "He's just visiting for the day." Your mom glanced from you to the redhead, who nodded along cheerfully.

  
"But then if he's from the opposite side of the island, how do you know each other?" You opened your mouth to speak again. You'd expected the question and had a wonderful answer about how he knew Riku and Sora from when they lived there, came to visit yesterday, and hung out with you today since you were the only one not at school. Of course, though, Axel had other plans.

  
"Don't worry, (y/n), I got this." He shot you a wink. Ohhhhh this was gonna be a full hoot. You went ahead and just busied yourself with eating your food as opposed to involving yourself in this mess. "Last year I came down to visit and found myself wandering the beach. Suddenly, I spot a local crafting something of a crown out of seashells and seaweed. I approached her and asked her what she was doing. She had a whimsical way about her, nothing I'd ever seen before." Your mom was enraptured in the story, leaning forward with her chin resting on her hand, nodding along. Your eyes were rolling at a million miles an hour.

  
"She explained that she was a sea queen and needed a crown to call her king to her. I got a fire going and we talked for hours. Alas, too soon it was late and I had to return to my dreary side of the island, so dark compared to staying with the light I had found in her." You were grumbling something like 'give me a break' under your breath. "I told her I'd return to her, and here I am, a year later to the day." his story finished and your mom looked around, bewildered.

  
"Really?"

  
"Nah, I know her friends and we met yesterday. Everyone else was at school so I thought I'd hang with her today, got it memorized?" You snorted and your mom gave off nervous laughter.

  
"Well, Axel, you certainly are a storyteller!"

  
"Yeah, he really knows how to spin 'em," you agreed, shaking your head. You couldn't hold back the small grin on your face as you looked him in the eye, earning a smile in return.

  
"Yeah, well..." Axel trailed off, shrugging. "But, mom, (y/n), I do have to get going before it's too late. Thank you so much for the meal."

  
"Anytime, Axel," your mother said, warmly, reaching over to grip his hand fondly. "Oh, honey, you're burning up. Are you running a fever?" Doctor mode engaged. All you could do was hope she didn't want to hear his heartbeat.

  
"Nope! Just run really hot." Axel stood before she could get more into her diagnosis and you followed suit, wiping your mouth on a napkin.

  
"I'll walk you out," you offered. He said his goodbyes and walked side by side with you outdoors. When he finally stepped outside, he turned with a smirk to face you.   
"I need my clothes back," he spoke, crossing his arms.

  
"Then pop up there and get them. Like you have an issue with invading my privacy," you retorted, leaning against the door frame. "Just don't be up there when I go to bed, I don't need another heart attack."

  
"Yeah, yeah, MC. Whatever you say. Stay safe, alright? Don't let any Freddy Kreuger's attack you in your sleep." He reached forward to ruffle your hair. Your eyes closed as you swatted his hand away, fixing your hair back to where it had been.

  
"You stay safe, too. My mom's gonna ask about you now and I don't wanna have to tell her you spontaneously combusted or anything." A portal appeared underneath him, already starting to swallow him up. "Oh, while you're up there, I put a gift for you on your clothes. There's one for Demyx, too, if you wouldn't mind making the trade-off."  
"Sure. Don't worry about me," were his last words before he disappeared from sight.

  
\---

  
_"It's time," Saix spoke to his superior. The hooded man stood straight and tall, arms held behind his back, watching his organization run the way it should- smoothly. Their newest member had been thrown into the mix and was performing outstandingly. His power was enough to bring buildings to shambles around him. Pure destruction at its finest. And now, now their secret weapon was ready._

  
_When Sora had freed Kairi's heart from his own, he had unknowingly freed every dormant heart that resided there, as well. The organization managed to grab_ on to _a few of these and turn them to their side. Of course, every attempt thus far had been a failure. But this mega weapon crafted from nothing but darkness would yield the tide in their favor. Xemnas would have his war. He would have his dream._

  
_Crafting the body had been easy enough. It was an exact replica of Vanitas's former presence. However, unlike the organization's other replica's, an original would be placed into this body. No clone, no chance of betrayal. Getting Vanitas's heart to intertwine with the physical form had taken time and had outlived the previous scientists working on it. UNfortunate, yes, but Xemnas would prefer having those trustworthy to work on the mission, in any sense._

  
_He turned to face Saix, who had been waiting patiently for his superior's response. "Wait until pure darkness has come. Then, release him." Saix gave a firm nod, turning and striding away. Under his hood, Xemnas grinned. Everything was going according to plan. He reached up, curling his fingers under the fabric._

  
\---

  
You woke up gasping. The world around you was shaking. "An earthquake?" you choked out, running and standing in the doorframe. Eventually, the shaking stopped, and you immediately set off to find your mother. "Mom?" you called out through the house, getting no answer. You passed a clock and realized it was past four. Of course, she was already at work. You sighed and went down to the kitchen, set on getting a glass of water.

  
You reached the fridge before the shaking started again. You braced yourself on the door and crouched low, an arm over your head while the other clung to the handle. "WHAT IS GOING ON?" you screamed out, having had enough of this by this point. You walked over to the window, looking out to see if people had started coming outside yet, because you were about ready to go complain with your neighbors.

  
What you saw made your blood run cold. The sky was swirling black, purple, and blue, and lightning was striking in every direction. It wasn't a regular storm. It looked like the masses of darkness that Axel and Demyx fell into so often. You bolted back upstairs to throw on the fastest outfit you could, hopping out the front door at last while still sliding your boot on. Your destination was the hospital. If darkness was coming, you knew the first person you needed to protect was your mom. You checked your phone as you ran. No service.

  
Heartless popped up in every direction as you sprinted. At first, you tried to take them all out. After they kept respawning with no sign of stopping, you decided to deal with the scratches they left on you and power through it. "(Y/N)!" you heard a voice yell. You turned in your tracks to see Kairi running towards you, her keyblade at her side like yours was.

  
"Kairi, come on, stay with me! I have to go save my mom!" you yelled over the noise of the storm. Kairi's hand reached out to grab yours, stopping from running.

  
"She'll be fine! We have to wait for Sora and Riku, we have to stay together!" You jerked your hand from her grip, shaking your head and backing up.

  
"No, she won't be okay! I have to protect her!"

  
"(y/n)!" two voices called at once. You looked behind Kairi to see the figures of what you knew to be Sora and Riku running towards you. You tore your eyes away and started running again. They were going to try and stop you. "(y/n), stop running! We need to stay together!" Riku's voice yelled behind you. You stopped hesitantly, turning with tears in your eyes.

  
"I can't!" No sooner had you finished speaking than another earthquake tore through the island, shaking the very ground you stood on. A giant tear began to rip between the two parties. You on one side, Riku, Sora, and Kairi on the other. You panicked, screaming as your eyes flew wide. "Riku!" you called out, running towards him.

  
"(Y/N!)" He screamed back, attempting to do the same. It was no use, your feet were soon stuck in place. All you could do was reach out for his opened hand, him trying desperately to try to reach you as well. Your fingers closed around nothing but cold air. He yelled, fighting with all his might to reach out to you. "I won't lose you! I won't lose anyone else!" He called. His attempts were pointless, the ground had split. Too much space was between the two of you. Sora and Kairi had to hold him back. It was no use. The ground beneath you gave way, and you fell into darkness.

  
\---

  
"Get up." the voice was sharp and unsympathetic, an annoyed edge to it. Your eyes flickered open blearily. You gave a groan at the pain in your whole body before reaching your hands out and assessing the situation. You pushed yourself up from where you had laid flat on the ground, wearily getting to your knees and then to your feet. You glanced around and immediately recognized the location. You were dreaming again. The stained glass platform was enough to tell you that.

  
"Why am I here?" you asked, looking around. The act caused soreness to shoot down your body, causing you to hiss in a breath.

  
"I'm back here, weakling. Get it together." You turned at the sound of the voice again, getting more than a little annoyed at this one. At least the voice in the last dream had been somewhat pleasant and in your head, where it couldn't bother you with a loud volume. When you locked on to the source of the voice, your eyes grew wider, your keyblade materializing in your hand. The voice belonged to someone in a black and red bodysuit that was designed to look almost like muscle tissue. A skirt-like cape adorned his hips. Every inch of him was covered, including his face- which was hidden behind a mask with a mirror finish.

  
"Who are you?" you asked another question, albeit with less confidence.

  
"Calm down, you're not gonna need that here," he spoke, walking up to you, pulling the keyblade from your hands, and throwing it to the side. It clattered loudly before disappearing. You backed up on instinct, swallowing the lump in your throat. "Are you kidding me? You're the new warrior? They'll really give a keyblade to anyone these days, won't they." his tone was flat and insulting. Your scoffed a little, offended at this strangers take on you. He didn't even know you!

  
"Sorry if I don't look like a warrior to you but we can't all run around in our mommy's skirts playing dress up. Some of us have to look sane," you snapped. Not only had you been woken up from a deep sleep, lost your friends and your mom, plunged into icy darkness, and somehow thwacked onto the hard ground, now this kid was gonna insult you? Oh hell no! The masked boy's head tilted before he laughed. It wasn't an amused laugh, but it wasn't forced.

  
"I should just end you right here and now." You braced yourself again, ready to fight if need be. "But I won't. yet. I just wanted to see what I'm dealing with before I put effort into something. Looks like I won't need to use too much energy after all."

  
"I hate you," you immediately followed up. This guy was really getting on your last nerve.

  
"Like I care," he answered flatly. "I'm bored with this. Go ahead and be a good girl and wake up now. I'll meet you again soon enough and make good of my promise to end you." The boy walked towards you again, grabbing your chin forcefully. You tried to fight back, but found your limbs locked in a way that made it impossible. His fingers came up to your eyelids and slid them closed, your world turning to darkness once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sniff sniff I smell...actual plot and actual VANITAS  
> -Minnie


	15. Traverse Town

"Ugh..." you groaned, vaguely recognizing the sound coming from your own mouth. Your eyes were shut lightly, your head spinning a mile a second. The surface below you was hard and cold, and, from the textures your fingers could feel, made of brick. Your eyes opened slowly, noting immediately that the world before you was extremely blurry. Your fists came up to rub some sleep from your eyes before you took a second shot at using the sense of sight.

  
This time around, you immediately took note of the fact that it was nighttime. There was a rustic charm about the place, leading you to the conclusion you were officially off your Islands. With a shaky grip on the wall behind you, you managed to pull yourself up and off the floor. Your knees buckled for a moment, but you were standing upright before you had a chance to tumble back to the ground. What happened? You leaned back against the wall, resting your head against it while your eyes flew shut, trying to remember the events that led you here.

  
The first thing you remembered was that asshole that had called you weak which instantly caused your lips to pull back into a snarl. But then, you remembered something far more important. Your eyes flew open with a gasp, the shock launching you against the wall and back to standing upright. "Mom!" You whispered, immediately breaking out into a run out of the alley you'd awoken in. Your feet brought you around a corner and into what appeared to be a plaza filled with lively people walking about and having business with each other. You dashed through the crowds at the annoyance of some people but weren't able to locate your mom.

  
If you had gotten off the Islands before they disappeared into the darkness, why hadn't your mom? Shouldn't she be here with you? And...where exactly did Sora, Riku, and Kairi get to? What happened to Selphie? Did Yuffie manage to find her way to the trio before they got sucked away as well? A knot rose in your throat and while you tried your best to force it back down into your stomach, you couldn't help the nausea that arose with it. One of the market's patrons wandered in front of you, and you couldn't help but reach out to them. "Excuse me!" you called out, causing the boy to pause and look around for the source of the voice. You waved and gave a small smile, flagging him over. He came to you, a smile on his face as well.

  
"What's up?" he asked, holding a paper bag in his hand.

  
"Um...I'm sorry if this is really stupid, but would you mind telling me where we are?" Your cheeks had a mild blush on them from asking a question that must make you look crazy. Luckily the boy only smiled further and gave an understanding nod.

  
"We're in Traverse Town. Your world fell to darkness, right?" Your eyes went wide and you nodded hungrily, excited that someone understood what had just happened to you. "Thought so. This is a world in between, you could say. Most people who don't have anywhere to go when their worlds fall come here to find refuge until their worlds return to them. It's been pretty busy as of late, though." A small grimace played on his face, piquing your curiosity. You exhaled a breath through your mouth, letting the information you received sink in.

  
"What about the people who don't come here after a world falls? Where do they go?" Your heart raced slightly, worried about the fate of your friends and family.  
"No one really knows...some show up again when their world comes back. Or at least, that's what the rumor mill says," He answers you with a snort, unknowingly crushing your spirit.

  
"Right...so everyone here has a home somewhere else?" you question.

  
"Just about. There are a couple natives. And then you have the ones like me, who have been here as long as they can remember. My world fell when I was a toddler. Don't remember much else before waking up here." You gave him a sympathetic look causing him to shrug and play it off. "Eh, it's no big deal. Listen, if you need help I work at the item shop over there, okay? My name's Marcus." You offered your hand to shake which he accepted with his bagless one.

  
"(y/n)," you responded, with a smile. He nodded and you parted ways after thanking him. So...Traverse Town, huh? Well, there's gotta be someone you know from your Islands here.You head out of the plaza, walking in front of what you found out was the Item Shop, taking note of its location should you find yourself in need of assistance. You kind of wondered if your keyblade would still come to you, but thought better of summoning a weapon in a busy town.

  
Instead, you wandered around aimlessly. Doors led every direction, stairs leading you up further and behind the item shop, which you now realized must be at least two stories. Eventually, you found yourself in front of a giant door. You furrowed your eyebrows, looking up to read the sign above it. "DISTRICT TWO" the sign read. With a sense of adventure about you, you shoved the giant door, willing it to open.

  
It slid open with ease to your great pleasure, smirking as you slid between the crack and closed it behind you. Once the wood was firmly in place, you looked around. It was seemingly deserted- a vast difference to the district behind you. Two pathways were before you, one leading to some upper shops, and the other to another plaza down below. You stepped forward, trying to figure out which direction to go. HOLY MOTHER OF PAOPU THERE'S HEARTLESS EVERYWHERE.

  
They popped up directly in front of you and surrounded you, their gross shadow bodies wriggling as you screeched in shock. You attacked without a second thought, cringing internally at the ever familiar feel of resistance you could sense as you whipped through the swarm. In three seconds flat you'd laid them all out, your keyblade practically steaming with the force in which it was used. 'Alright, well, that answered that question,' you thought as you leaned against the wall, trying to catch your breath. Once in a normal heart rate again, you gripped the hilt of your keyblade tightly as you picked up the fallen munny to make sure it wouldn't disappear on you again.

  
Once you had shuffled around every part of the entrance way to ensure no heartless would pop out at you again, you took a better look at the city in front of you. There appeared to be a hotel on the left, a clock tower to the far north, and two alleys to enter on the lower right. You opted to go on an adventure rather than head to sleep again; however, you kept a mental note of where that hotel was located. 'Alright,' you thought as you walked towards the stairs, 'if people here know about the existence of other worlds- someone's gonna know how to get off this one.'

  
Or at least you hoped. Your hoping stopped when another swarm of heartless greeted you at the foot of the stairs. "Oh, come on!" you whined as you ran into the mass. Your keyblade slashed in every direction, battle noises leaving your mouth frequently. You noticed that your muscles were quieting their scream that usually followed an intense session. You must be getting used to the physical aspect of fighting.

  
Herd after herd of Heartless kept appearing, forcing you further and further back into the plaza until you were in the back alleyway. When you finally finished off the last survivor, you leaned against the wall panting. Okay, so maybe you weren't completely used to the physical aspect of fighting. But, to be fair, those little brats scratched HARD and didn't care where they grabbed. You heard the sound of a heartless being summoned and groaned, looking towards the ground. Maybe you could just kick it and it would die. Wishful thinking.

  
But the heartless wasn't on the ground. Your eyes squinted, searching for the creature. You were sure you'd heard it coming in, so where could it be? Your question answered itself as a bright ball of fire flew right by you. You gave a surprised yelp and jumped out of the way in time, the fireball narrowly missing scorching you. "Alright, very funny, Axe-..." you trailed off after locating the source of the fire. It definitely wasn't your favorite pyromaniac. Instead, a red being floated above you, it's top coming to a point. Your head tilted to the side in confusion before another shot of fire escaped from it, causing you to run through the door at the end of the alley.

  
\---

  
Demyx woke up feeling mostly refreshed that morning. That being said, he still jolted awake like someone had poured cold water down his back, despite being ina deep sleep a few seconds earlier. Some things never change. The blonde rubbed the sleep out of his eyes while they were still shut, then moved to wiping the drool off the corner of his lip. (It wasn't anything bad, okay?? Just a couple of drops, he swears!) Once mostly awake, he stood and stretched out his limbs, arms reaching above his head as he yawned.

  
His room was messy and he knew he needed to clean it, but that could wait for another time. Instead, he grabbed his cloak and pants from the floor and threw them on, following up with a fresh pair of socks and his boots. A comb ran through his hair messily and he was ready to go! Demyx wasn't exactly the type to enjoy his missions-or to even go without complaining-but, lately, he'd been going with a smile on his face.

  
He popped into the kitchen for a brief moment, humming to himself while he made his cinnamon and peanut butter toast. It was a weird combination and he knew it, but when no other members of the Organization were around to make fun of him, he indulged all he wanted to. After scarfing down the quick meal with some almond milk he set out on his way. He walked through the halls, ready to call a portal when he heard a voice behind him. "Wait up, kid. I got a deal to strike with ya." Demyx turned at Xigbar's voice, anxiety already creeping in.

  
"What did I do?" he asked, his voice gaining a whining element to it. The higher-up looked down on him, smirking through his chortle.

  
"Nothing. But I need you to trade missions with me. I got Atlantica and you're the only one who actually likes going there." Demyx's ears perked up at this. Atlantica was, actually, his favorite place to be. The water was nice and they had a killer music program. Demyx shook his head at the offer, however.

  
"No can do, my job's way too important. I gotta go to Destiny Islands and watch the keyblade wielders." He puffed his chest out with pride, basking in his own glory. Xigbar's face fell, his eyebrows turning inwards.

  
"You got some bad info, man. Destiny Islands fell to darkness last night and now we all gotta figure out where those brats went." This was news to the sitar player. Fell to darkness?

  
"Did we-"

  
"Yep, we sure did. Figures that we couldn't keep a track of those brats long enough to get 'em under our power." Xibar's eye rolled, his long ponytail swaying as his head shook. He crossed his arms as Demyx's expression led him to believe his mind was far away from the conversation at home. "Listen, dude. I don't know what to tell you, but Saix told me you got The Land of Dragons, and I got Atlantica. I gotta bring Nuxciel with me, and I'm sure the newbie would appreciate not going to Atlantica for his first visit away from here. I know it's your favorite world, so just switch with me, alright?" His voice got a little loud at the end, intending to be intimidating, but Demyx couldn't care at this moment.

  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, whatever. I like Atlantica. Are you bringing Vanitas with you, too?" He tried his best to sound interested. Xigbar didn't notice, only waving a hand in dismissal.

  
"No. I can only babysit one puppy at a time. Vanitas is wherever Xemnas wants him to be. No supervision required for someone who was born to be loyal."

  
"Yeah, I guess." After this, Xigbar left Demyx alone. Demyx let a breath out of his chest, slumping over slightly. He didn't care about going to Atlantica right now. All he wanted to know was, is (y/n) okay?

  
\---

  
"PUPPIES!" You yelled on a giant exhale, falling to your knees at the sight of dozens of dalmatian puppies surrounding you. They bounded up to you and jumped on you, kissing your face and begging for attention. You fell into the black and white pit and giggled, overcome with happiness you hadn't felt all day as you loved on each of the dogs. Once you'd had your fill of puppy love, you sat back up and caught your breath. This could hands down be the best moment of your life.

  
A cold nose nudging your cheek pulled you from your bliss, causing you to look in the direction. There sat two large, grown dogs. Their collars read 'Pongo' and 'Perdita', respectively. "Aw, hi, guys. You must be the proud parents." A hand went out to each of the dogs, allowing them to sniff you before reaching over to nuzzle their heads. "You made beautiful puppies!' you complimented. And, as if she could understand you, Perdita gave a friendly bark. You giggled, getting to your feet. You wandered through the rest of the large house, finding more puppies to cuddle in each room.

  
So cuddle you did! No dog was left un-pet. You wondered where their owners were, or if they would mind you barging in like nothing was wrong. Eventually, you found yourself coming back to the first room of the house, ready to face that flying red heartless at last. You said your goodbyes to Pongo and Perdita and thanked them for allowing you into their home since there were no humans to thank. You could've sworn Pongo nodded, but wrote it off as excitement. Once outside, you ran towards the area the heartless was in, keyblade raised. It appeared and you slashed through it four times before it disappeared and a pink heart floated towards the sky.

  
Satisfied with your work, you smirked and headed off towards the hotel. It'd probably be a bad idea to sleep in the alley again, and you were unsure if you'd find anyone to help you. Of course, a fresh new slew of heartless were there every step of the way- including your new red friends that seemed more fire happy than Axel. A few scorches and dozens of heartless later, you finally walked into the hotel. As you wiped the sweat from your brow, you looked for a receptionist, but couldn't find one. "Hello?" you called out.  
"300 munny for a room," a bored female voice creaked. You turned around to inspect the source and saw a curtain ruffling behind the desk. "Wait, was it you that just killed all those bugs in front of my hotel?"

  
"Um...uh-huh, yeah," you nodded.

  
"150 munny for you." You smiled and grabbed your munny pouch, thanking her as you counted out 150. "Take the green room." A key shot out from behind the curtain and you grabbed it with ease. Your reflexes must be improving, too. You chuckled to yourself as you walked to the room with the green door and turned the key. It was nothing extravagant, just a simple room with a bed, table, chairs- but what caught your eye was the balcony. After sitting on the bed to test it for comfort, (not as good as your bed at home, but not bad) you slid the balcony door open and stepped outside.

  
The sky was still dark with no sign of light at all and you began to wonder if this world was in permanent darkness. While you loved the night sky, due to certain circumstances, it bummed you out a little to not see light again for a while. You sighed, stepping forward and placing your arms on the ledge while you leaned forward. This must be an area you hadn't visited yet. A basin of water was below and banners swung quietly with the wind. It was pretty, you'd admit, but it definitely wasn't your Islands.

  
Just as you were about to go back inside, a door opened below. Being the nosy person you are, you looked over the balcony to see who was walking out. To your surprise, it was someone you knew. Your heart soared up to your throat as you called out their name. The person looked up at you, eyes wide, smiling while they called out. "(y/n)! I found you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so fun to write and to focus on our reader I love her so much she's so cute UGH. So I'm thinking the next chapter might be up by like Friday instead of Sunday because my work schedule is a little topsy-turvy next week!! I'm still working on those playlists, does anyone have any songs that remind them of our reader? Lmk!!  
> -Minnie


	16. Darkness Incarnate

"Riku!" You called out, leaning far out over the balcony to assure that it was really him. A huge smile came over your face, your teeth shining as breath escaped quickly, your chest heaving. "You're safe!" Riku ran to right under where you stood, neck craned back so he could see you.

  
"I knew you had to be here somewhere. I came as fast as I could," he spoke breathlessly. You smiled down at him before looking around, wondering how to get down there.  
"Hold on," you called over to him as you ran back inside. You were hoping you wouldn't get charged for doing this. One bed sheet and one strong knot later and you were shimmying your way down to the ground. You had a small jump of a few feet, but nothing you weren't able to brace yourself to handle. Once on the ground, you ran directly into Riku's chest, flinging your arms around his middle as tightly as possible.

  
He hesitated for a moment-probably in shock from running into, you figured-but ended up encircling his arms around you as well, rubbing your back soothingly. You let out a breath of relief, feeling the knot in your stomach loosen for the first time since you'd been there. "I was so scared," you finally sigh out, giving Riku a final squeeze before standing up again, pushing your hair back and out of your face.

  
Riku was nodding, releasing you as well. "I'm so sorry, I know how scary it is to be dropped off somewhere with no one you know-"

  
"No," you cut him off, shaking your head with your brows turned inward. "I wasn't scared about that, I was scared about what happened to you." Riku's eyes widened and yours followed soon after. You rapidly began waving your hands in front of you, shaking your head. "All of you! You, Kairi, Sora, and Yuffie! Wait, are they all with you? Have you seen anyone else?" Riku chuckled a little, taking a half step back and scratching his neck.

  
"Yeah, they're fine. They're in Hollow Bastion." You froze in place, color draining from your face.

  
"Then what are we doing here? We have to help them!" You didn't know much about Hollow Bastion, but from what Riku had told you, it was a cold, miserable place. Not to mention the heartless stronghold! Why in the hell were you wasting time just standing around? Your hand encircled Riku's wrist, ready to pull him off to...somewhere with a door to outside worlds! To your confusion, Riku just laughed, resisting against your efforts.

  
"Calm down, soldier," he got out, turning the tables so he was grasping onto your wrist instead, easily keeping you in place. You looked up at him, the confusion clear on your face. "They're fine. Hollow Bastion is where Yuffie's from. She and some friends are working on restoring it to what it once was. No more evil," he promised, watching the expression on your face smooth over. You placed a hand to your chest, letting out a breath of air. Once stabilized again, you looked up once more. You stared into Riku's eyes for a good second before pulling your hand free and backhanding his chest somewhat lightly.

  
"You asshole, you could've started with that! I was over here trying to figure out how to overthrow a whole castle," you sighed out, whining as you heard nothing but laughter coming from beside you. Deciding to fume silently for a few more moments, you looked back at your previous escape route, noting the way the sheets threads looked stressed and pulled. Ohhh, you were definitely gonna have to pay for that. You turned back to your friend instead, ready to dip out instead of dealing with that. "So how did you get here?" you asked, crossing your arms. Riku straightened up, the laughter gone from his expression-replaced by sheepishness.

  
"Well..." he started. You cocked an eyebrow, waiting for his response. With a sigh, he turned so his back was to you and raised a hand up. A black portal exploded out of the ground, tendrils of darkness shooting out of nowhere and forming a doorway shape. You weren't able to stop the gasp that flew from your lips, even as your hand shot up to cover your mouth. You knew Riku had dabbled with the darkness before, but you hadn't known he had the same abilities the nobodies had. He turned his head to look at you, giving a nervous smile once he saw the look on your face. "Tools of the trade never really go away, I guess," he spoke. letting his hand fall. You swallowed the lump in your throat and dropped your hand, smiling up at your friend reassuringly.

  
"This is so cool!" you gushed, stepping forward and rubbing his back as you looked into the darkness. "This'll definitely get the job done, I think. Way to go, Riks." The tall teenager glanced down at you, a satisfied grin resting comfortably on his features. He should've known you wouldn't freak out or ask why he could still wield the darkness so easily. You'd never been like that with him. Shaking his thoughts, he outreached a hand and gestured to the swirling pit.

  
"Ladies first." A knot formed in your throat. Oh. Right. You had to walk through that. Flashbacks of the feeling of plunging headfirst into freezing water suddenly came reeling into your mind. You know what? A week ago, you would've never thought about running into a portal of freezing darkness that your sorta-crush had conjured from nothing in a foreign world. Oh, fuck it. You sucked in a huge breath and speed walked into the portal, only to let it out in a quick huff once inside.

  
"Holy Christ it is FREEZING!" you exclaimed, grabbing your hands and wrapping them around each other, trying to warm your upper arms. You looked around, seeing a whole lot of nothing. Riku soon appeared behind you, grabbing onto your shoulder to ensure you wouldn't get separated.

  
"Come on, just keep going forward." You both took a few more steps, the sound echoing throughout the...room? What exactly were you in? As you pondered, something else broke the silence.

  
"Not so fast," a voice rang out, followed by the feeling of being pushed backward and the clash of steel on steel. You adjusted your eyes quickly and took in the sight of Riku locked in a standoff with no one other than the masked figure that had invaded your thoughts before you woke up in Traverse Town. Two keyblades were pressed to one another, each trying to gain the upper hand. In a split second, Riku pushed him off and regained a fighting stance, Way to the Dawn clenched tightly. You, however, just grew annoyed, rubbing your forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.

  
"What are you doing here again?" you asked with a cold bite to your voice. Riku looked back to you over his shoulder.

  
"You know him?"

  
"He harassed me once before," you explained, summoning your keyblade. You'd lovingly nicknamed your baby Destiny. The name had come to you suddenly and it just felt right. The masked man was standing back with his arms crossed, keyblade dangling from his fingers.

  
"Are we done here? Some of us work for a living," he spoke in a bored voice. Riku's head snapped back in his direction, glare fierce.

  
"What do you want? Who are you?"

  
"Look," the man spoke, walking towards Riku. "I've been ordered to bring you back with me. You can either come willingly or I can kick your ass and drag you there myself. Be glad you have the choice."

  
"You're not taking him anywhere," you spoke up, moving to stand next to your friend, keyblade raised. Hatred boiled inside you. This entitled asshole was getting on your last nerve.

  
"Quiet, pipsqueak, the adults are talking." Steam literally must be coming out your ears at this moment. You couldn't hold yourself back and ran at him, ready to slice him in half.

  
"(y/n), Don't - !" Riku's words hit you too late, by the time you heard them you'd somehow been apprehended, your keyblade forced from your hand, and had an arm wrapped around your neck tightly. Your hands came up to grip at the vice, tugging with all your might, but to no release. You struggled, squirming around as you tried to ignore the look of horror on Riku's face. It was your own stupid move that got you stuck in this situation.

  
"Alright, well that's one of you. Wanna make it a package deal?" He motioned for Riku to come over.

  
"Let her go," Riku growled.

  
"Either you come willingly or I'll tell them the brat was a lost cause and kill her myself."

  
"You're stupid!" You shot out, squirming harder. You saw Riku's arm falter a little, clearly considering the deal. You could've rolled your eyes if you weren't struggling for air. That was a horrible plan! You gained your footing and tilted your head away from the man's, jolting your elbow into his stomach. His grip on you loosened as he doubled over and you were able to break free, sending a kick into the same area. A split second later and you could feel your keyblade in your hand again and banged it on top of his mask. The man was left bent over, gripping his mask as you were sure the echo was ringing in his ears. "Let's go!" you yelled, grabbing Riku's arm and running straight forward, towards hopefully the exit. With a jerk in another direction, you soon found yourself stepping into warmth and sunlight. You shot out of the portal quickly and immediately fell to your knees, gasping for breath as you gripped the grass.

  
"Are you alright?" A concerned Riku asked as he knelt down, rubbing your back. You nodded, your eyes closed. The expression on Riku's face was heartbreaking but you never saw it, thankfully. He could've lost you or given the wrong team exactly what they wanted. His look of worry smoothed over when you turned over so your back was to the ground, smiling as the sunshine warmed your face.

  
"I never thought I'd see the sun again," you breathed out, enjoying the way your exposed skin was warming back up from subzero temperatures.

  
"Darkness has a way of doing that," Riku explained, sitting with his legs out next to you. "Alright, we need to work on your impulse control," he teased, causing you to crack an eye open and look sheepish.

  
"Yeah..." That was a really sticky situation. If you hadn't thought quickly, you could've gotten seriously hurt, or Riku could have. Your first day on the job wasn't going so hot. After a shake of his head, Riku gave a small sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  
"Tell me how you know that guy," he requested. You obliged, telling him every detail you could remember between your Islands and waking up in Traverse Town. He nodded along as you spoke, the grimace on his features growing more pronounced with nearly every wor. Once you were finished, he sighed, raising a hand to the sky as he complained. "Who even is this asshole? I've never seen him before. Not in the organization or as one of Maleficent's flunkies. Trust me, (y/n), I've been around every corner of darkness, and this douche hasn't made one appearance." You shrugged, standing up now as you looked around. This world, at the very least, seemed to have a daytime, which was more than you could say about Traverse Town. Unfortunately, your travels were catching up with you, and you had to cover your mouth as a yawn slipped past your lips.   
"This is Hollow Bastion?" you asked, looking over to Riku as he stood up, dusting off his pants.

  
"Huh? Yeah, at least what's left of it. The castle's still pretty wrecked," he commented, placing one hand on your shoulder and reaching the other out, ending in a two-fingered point. You followed his direction and squinted out, nodding as you saw a large building in the distance.

  
"Gotta throw the whole thing out," you mumbled. You weren't particularly fond of the castle. You might be a little biased, seeing as you'd only heard tales of misfortune and heartbreak that took place inside. You heard snickering beside you and smirked to yourself. You knew you were funny.

  
"Come on, let's head over to Merlin's."

  
"Does this Merlin have sleeping quarters?" you asked, following after your tall friend and stifling another yawn. You weren't sure how long you'd been out after you'd left your islands, but you had the feeling you had overslept and were nothing but groggy now. The eye roll Riku released was nearly audible. Still, you followed closely behind, not willing to get lost in such a strange new world. You looked around while your feet pounded against the pavement, taking in the sights.

  
Small shops lined the plaza-like area you entered, including an ice cream shop. Taking a mental note of its exact latitude and longitude for future use, your gaze shifted to a more residential area. It was clear that some form of war had taken place here not too long ago, as the village still looked like an earthquake had uprooted things and the population was minuscule. You frowned as you walked, feeling sorrow for the residents. Was this what your Islands were going to be like when you got back? ...Were your islands coming back?

  
You jump into the abyss of dark thoughtss without a breath of questioning and were only pulled out when a white circle appeared in front of you. You stopped dead in your tracks, looking at the disc quizzically. "Uh," you started. Then, the circle popped out of the ground, a column of light coming with it before disappearing. Riku turned just in time to see the glance of white. You calmly waited for an explanation of just what the hell was wrong with worlds that weren't your own. Nothing surprised you at this point.  
"The village's defense system," he explained. You gave a noise of approval and nodded before being guided up a step. "Come on, you got people who want to meet you inside."

  
\---

  
"They ain't in Twilight Town. Don't know what to tell you" Axel reported, arms crossed and hood raised. He knew he'd only been sent to that world for some sick punishment for something minor he'd done. It hadn't been the best day and he was definitely on edge.

  
"We searched The Land Of Dragons top to bottom, man," Xigbar spoke, shrugging.

  
"And there was nothing to report, my liege," Nuxciel followed, his head dipping into a bow.

  
"Neverland was completely clean," Xaldin spoke. It was clear by his tone of voice that he had no other words to say on the matter.

  
"Oh, uh...yeah, Atlantica was dry. Wet, very wet. But dry. No one there that shouldn't be, I promise," Demyx stammered nervously, rambling.

  
"Wonderland was of no use to the Organization. However, they treated me verrrry nicely," Luxord smirked, also crossing his arms.

  
"I was also unsuccessful in locating them, superior." Saix's head stayed level, keeping his voice calm even as he admitted defeat. The remaining Organization members were standing in a row in front of Xemnas as their superior paced the floor, nodding as they all spoke.

  
"Tomorrow we will search more. Cover more ground. They are Kingdom Hearts' warriors. We must make sure they follow the correct path." His gaze turned to the masked figure to the side, not participating in the event. "And Vanitas. Were you successful?" Vanitas pulled his mask off, exposing his face for the first time all day. A bored expression that matched his voice quite well sat upon his features, made more prominent by the metal surrounding his jaw.

  
"Does it look like I was?" It was a clear observation. "I didn't see anyone of substance." It wasn't a lie. He'd just seen that annoying ass girl and the clueless boy. He fought a fugitive and all he got was this stupid bruise near his ribcage. Of course, he healed at a faster rate than most. No one needed to know about his failure and have time to double think his existence. He looked away from the silver haired man who was still pacing, avoiding meeting his gaze by looking annoyed at existing.

  
Which, well, he sure could be.

  
"Very well. Sleep. Earn your strength. We have a new plan for tomorrow."

  
Axel was the first one out the door. Yeah, it had been a _really_ bad day. Worst part of it? He was trying to convince himself that he didn't care that you were missing, and it _wasn't fucking working_. He shoved headphones into his ears, pressing play and letting the screams speak for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW ITS TECHNICALLY MONDAY BUT I'M STILL AWAKE FROM SUNDAY I'M SO SORRY FOR BEING LATE WORK WAS THE WORST THIS WEEK AND IT'S BAD NEXT WEEK TOO I'M SO SORRY AGAIN BUT LOOK: A PLAYLIST!!!  
> I think I'm gonna do one every chapter until they're all up!  
> Tell me what y'all think <3  
> -Minnie
> 
> http://8tracks.com/minervamouze/silver-rain


	17. Squad Up

You walked inside the home Riku had designated as Merlin's and immediately took a look around. Much to your dismay, only one bed was sighted. However, picking your spirits up were several familiar faces looking up at you, as well as a couple you didn't recognize. "(Y/NNNNNN)!" Sora screamed, running towards you and nearly knocking you over with the combined force of how fast he ran and your lack of strength due to your lack of sleep. You laughed and wrapped your hands around his back as well, squeezing him about half as tight as his own grip on you.

  
"We were so worried!" Kairi sighed in relief, joining the hug session.

  
"Mehhh, I knew you'd be alright," Yuffie smiled, arms crossed. You noticed she was wearing a new getup than the outfits she'd worn when she'd stayed on your islands, one that seemed a little more fitting to her personality. Shorts, a crop top as well as a cropped denim vest, as well as knee-high lace-up tennis shoes with the socks poking out adorned her athletic figure. As you snuggled into the embrace of your friends, you gave Yuffie a warm smile.

  
"You look damn good," you complimented, earning a scoff. Kair and then Sora peeled themselves on you, each grabbing onto one of your hands. "I was worried about the both of you, especially when genius over here told me you were in Hollow Bastion without explaining Maleficent had moved out." Your eyes rolled almost in synch with Riku's, causing everyone in the room to laugh. You glanced around, suddenly feeling nervous. Color tinted your cheeks as Yuffie started speaking once more.

  
"(y/n), this is everyone. They already know about you." Awesome. "This is Cid, Aerith, Squall,-"

  
"Leon," nearly everyone in the room corrected.

  
"And that's Cloud!" Yuffie continued without even pausing to take a breath of air. You waved and said a small hello to them, to which they all reciprocated.   
"So you have a keyblade," Leon stated, his arms crossed as he gazes at you icily. Not the best introduction, but you'll take it.  
"Sure do!" you grinned, summoning it for the crowd.

  
"Hey, how did you learn to do that so quickly?" Kairi gasped, clearing upset that you'd been able to summon it on command. You laughed, shrugging your shoulders.  
"Had to use it a lot recently, I guess." Giggling from across the room caught your attention, and your gaze turned to see Aerith covering her mouth.

  
"I'm sorry," she started, a sweet smile on her lips. you decided right then and there that in the battle of cinnamon buns and sinnamon buns, she was 100% cinnamon. "It's just that Leon is jealous that someone new got one, again, and it still wasn't him." Leon scoffed, all but confirming this to be true. You couldn't help but laugh at the situation, although it turned into an awkward chuckle when Leon's icy eyes were locked onto you once more.

  
"I mean, uh, that sure is an, um, unfortunate situation. Maybe...someday...or soon, you could be next." You trail off slowly, hiding your keyblade at your side and feeling it disappear from your fingertips. The one named Cloud finally gave a loud snort and Cid grunted, turning around and working on his computer once more. The room finally returned to the atmosphere you'd walked in on and you gave a sigh of relief. Cloud walked over to you, sizing you up before nodding.

  
"Seems fitting," he commented. You made a sound of confusion but he made no move to explain himself. "We're working on restoring Hollow Bastion to the place it used to be."  
"Some of us are working harder than others, Mr. Secret Mission," Yuffie added in.

  
"Either way, we could use extra help," he continued, eyeing you. Oh, this was awkward. Of course, you'd love to help, but you had kind of other pressing engagements...like figuring out where your parent was.

  
"We're not here on vacation," Riku shot out cooly, speaking for the first time from the corner of the studio home. You silently thanked him and gave an awkward smile, stepping back from the situation. "We have things to do, we need to figure out where the darkness is coming from and end it, get back to our own tattered world."

  
"That doesn't mean we can't help!" Sora piped up, a huge goofy grin on his face.

  
"Yes, it does. We need to get out of here and soon," Riku shot back. Wow, you'd love to be literally anywhere but here.

  
"Hey, why don't I go show (y/n) where we'll be staying? Let's go!" Kairi spoke up, grabbing your hand and pulling you from Merlin's home.

  
"Ohokaynicetomeetyouallthankyousomuchseeyoulaterbye!" you speed spoke, following Kairi at a fast pace.

  
The door shut behind you both and the two of you leaned against it, letting out a breath of air. "Thank you so much, Kai, the tension back there was so thick you could cut it with a knife and make a sandwich out of it."

  
"Yeah, no kidding," she breathed out, shaking her head.

  
"So...you mentioned something about a place to sleep?" Exhaustion was your best friend at this point and was embracing you warmly, weighing your every movement down. She giggled and nodded, standing up straight. You followed her lead, taking a step forward before a noise to your right hit your ears, making the both of you stop in your tracks. A yellow opera floated nearby, unaware of either of your existences, floating around without a care in the world. You looked to her and she looked to you, then both back to the heartless. "We could probably just ignore it, right?"

  
"We could...but then we'd have to deal with it later, anyway."

  
"That didn't stop me from pushing off my junior project 'til a week before it was due."

  
"(y/n)..." You sighed audibly, your head hanging low before lunging forward, swinging your keyblade overhead until it made contact with the heartless. You whacked it once more, taking out all your anger on it, before you were suddenly shocked and sent flying backward, feeling electricity tingle through your whole body. You hit the ground with an 'oof' and just lay there- unwilling to move. Once the pain wore off, you could probably take a nap there.

  
Noise from nearby let you know that Kairi was taking care of the heartless and its probable friends, so you just shut your eyes and let yourself enjoy the feeling of not standing up. "(y/n)! Are you okay?!" a breathless Kairi asked, shaking your shoulder. You opened your eyes to see her on her knees beside you, her keyblade beside her. You nodded, sitting up and letting out a breath.

  
"Yeah, just a little shook up," you said, stretching your limbs. "Good job!" you complimented, motioning to her keyblade.

  
"Oh," she laughed, grabbing hold of her keyblade. "Yeah, I'm pretty good with it once I actually have it."

  
"I can't wait to see you kick Riku's ass one day," you joke as you stand up, helping Kairi up as she laughs as well. The two of you finally make it to your next destination and you immediately groan, covering your eyes. "STAAAIIIRS?" you whine.

  
"I know, I know," Kairi sighed, wrapping an arm around your waist. "You can beat this, I know it." The two of you slowly make your way up the stairs and down a walkway, ending up in a tunnel of some sort. "This is the Bailey," Kairi tells you as you look around, admiring the architecture.

  
"Very cool," you comment, looking out over a village below. Beyond the village is a path, and far beyond is a dark castle. You swallow thickly, squinting. "Is that--?" Kairi just nods, looking for a moment before diverting her attention to the path, unable to look at it for too long. Remembering what had happened to her there, you quickly look away as well, searching for anything else to distract from the bad memories. "Hey, wait, what is that?" you ask with genuine curiosity, looking down to the mouth of the path where two white figures were slinking forward. Kairi looked forward and scoffed, crossing her arms.

  
"Nobodies."

  
"Wait, what?" That was undoubtedly not Axel or Demyx, even if it almost had the flamethrower's figure.

  
"A different type. The Organization's flunkies," she explained. You nodded, your mouth forming a silent 'oh'. "I just found out about them myself, so I don't know much, but I think they're called dusks."

  
"Ew."

  
"Ditto," she agreed, finally pulling away from the view. "Come on, not much further." You turned around and instantly whined, looking at the very large slope downwards.

  
"You haaate me," you complained, grumbling with each step.

  
"It's not that far, I promise!" You survive the journey down and are headed towards the village when you notice the nobodies have gone. Good, you weren't in the mood for fighting. "One of Merlin's friends let us borrow his cottage until we think of a plan!" Kairi explains cheerfully. God, you couldn't wait for a bed. A flash of white crossed your eyes and you turned immediately. Your reflexes were weakened right now, but you knew when something bad was about to happen.

  
"No, I didn't say go that way, I said to go towards the cave! Come on, why don't you ever listen?" A very familiar whining male voice hit your eardrums and you immediately perked up, looking around to find the source.

  
"(y/n)? What's up?" Kairi asked, noticing you weren't following her anymore. She was walking back to you when you spotted a man in a black coat running after a figure headed right towards you. Your eyes lit up as you saw him, immediately running past the figure and colliding with him. (Behind you, the mysterious figure became very very confused, giving Kairi time to swipe at it.)

  
"DEMYX!" you yelled, wrapping your arms tightly around the familiar man. Demyx had his hood up and was very shocked at first, not making sense of the situation.  
"Oh, holy shit, (y/n)?!" You nodded, smiling widely. Demyx's hands came up to push his hood down, revealing the mullet you'd grown to love. His expression was nothing short of elated, embracing you back. It was awkward, almost like he was new to hugs. You let him go and turned to see a panting Kairi holding her keyblade for the second time that day.

  
"(Y/N)!" she called, standing up straight. "Wanna let me in on what's going on?" Oh, crap. You weren't supposed to be friends with the organization. That was a big no-no because they were apparently bad guys...even if you couldn't see Demyx hurting a fly. And, truthfully, if Demyx could avoid it, he would. Not for moral reasons, he just tried to avoid doing anything in general. Especially manual labor. Not the point.

  
You scratched your neck awkwardly, giving a small grin. "Aha, see, it's funny. This is, um, uh. He's, uh. Wow, he's really, uh-" Kairi deadpanned. She wasn't buying it.  
"I'm pretending this isn't happening and giving you five minutes." She turned around and headed back to the path, sitting herself down on a rock and admiring her own keyblade. You turned back to Demyx, who still had the same wide grin.

  
"This is great! I was looking for you!" You blushed deeply immediately, starting to cough from the bluntness of his statement.

  
"Wha- you were?" you get out, slapping your chest to get your breathing in check.

  
"Yeah, we all were!" Oh. Blush remained on your cheeks, but from a completely different standpoint now. Wait a second...

  
"Wait, why are there people looking for me?" you questioned, distracted from the reunion for the moment.

  
"Well, when the darkness took over your islands, we lost track of you, which wasn't the plan. We weren't just looking for you, we were looking for your friends too, but I really just wanted to find you again," he added sheepishly, looking away from you for a moment. Aw, okay, there was the good blush again.

  
"I was worried I wouldn't get to see you anymore," you admitted. "I got so happy when I heard your voice. I missed you and Axel both so much." Demyx's face scrunched up. No, you didn't need to miss Axel. Missing him was enough. You only needed one nobody friend, and it was gonna be Demyx, not Axel. Unsure of the thoughts running through his own head, Demyx shrugged.

  
"Yeah, but Axel didn't find you on only day two, now did he?" Demyx bragged, leaning on his sitar.

  
"Didn't...didn't you find me by accident?" Demyx nearly fell off the sitar as he scrambled to stand up straight again. You laughed loudly, clutching onto your sides. Demyx chuckled with you, trying to not be too embarrassed. "So, what plan were you referencing?"

  
"Huh?"

  
"You said losing us wasn't part of the plan. What plan?"

  
"Oh, covering your Island in darkness so you could fight more heartless and complete kingdom hearts! I think that was it, anyway. Xemnas has this..thing with kingdom hearts. I usually fall asleep in meetings and Saix won't give me his notes."

  
"Wait, what?"

  
"Huh?" You were in disbelief.

  
"You...you did that to the Island?" The color left Demyx's face as you realized his slip of the tongue. He covered his mouth as if he could take back the words he just said. "Do you have any idea how scary that was?!" Anger was building inside you and you started walking forward, Demyx stepping backward to avoid your warpath. "How horrible it is to know I couldn't get to my mom in time? To know my best friend is either dead or lost in darkness more than likely? That my only parent shares the same fate?!" You were nearing yelling now and his back hit a wall. Or a rock, in this case.

  
"(y/n), it wasn't me! I promise I had nothing to do with i-" he started to cover his tracks, wanting anything to go back to when you were embracing him moments earlier. The warm feeling he'd felt in the pit of his stomach had felt colder than walking through a corridor of darkness did now.

  
"No," you cut him off. "Just your boss and coworkers," you sat, your anger peaking. You thought of all the things you wanted to do to him currently- your fingers twitching a few times. After a good old fashioned stare off for a few seconds, you stormed away, shouting over your shoulder. "I would've been better off if I had never seen you again." You knew your words were poisonous and you could only hope that they'd found their mark. You didn't look back again as you stomped past Kairi, who quickly stood up to run after you, lost at the turn of events.

  
"What happened?" she inquired, wondering just what the hell could've happened to turn the cool, calm, and collected (y/n) into a boiling pit of rage.

  
"Don't wanna talk about it. I literally just need to take the longest nap of anyone's life, okay? Please, get me to a bed," you all but begged, refusing to take your anger out on her. Kairi looked at you for a second before nodding and grabbing your hand. She gave it a squeeze before leading you down the roadway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm taking a break from doing playlists and I'm instead writing little Halloween AU one shots!! Technically it's gonna be every holiday that comes around is gonna have a cute little story, but currently, it's Halloween SO that's what I'm writing now!! There should be one up for each boy before Halloween and for every holiday subsequent, and Axel's is up now! Happy spookin, y'all.
> 
> -Minnie
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/12339075/chapters/28061001


	18. Woopsie Daisies!

The cottage was largely spacious, two stories with four separate bedrooms. In fact, you had to wonder if there was some way that the inside was larger than it appeared on the outside because when you had walked in behind Kairi, you'd thought it would have been a studio, almost. You let out a deep breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding in upon entering, resting a hand against the back of a couch. "So..." Kairi began, looking over at you curiously. You sighed, rubbing your temple. You hadn't told her why you were in such a mood yet, and, honestly, you weren't sure you wanted to.

  
After you'd marched away from Demyx in a rude fashion, you'd had about a half mile walk to calm down and recollect the matter at hand. Had you been too harsh? Surely it wasn't actually his fault that the Organization had sent darkness to your island. Furthermore...if you told Kairi, she'd tell Sora and Riku. And they already had bad preconceived notions about the nobodies. Riku had already all but banned you from being friends with them anymore. You let out another groan, easily the fifth one that day, and looked to your redheaded friend with pleading eyes.

  
"I'm begging you, please just let me go to sleep," you asked of her, the most pathetic look you could muster on your face. She looked back to you with a conflicted expression before finally sighing and dropping her head.

  
"Fine, come on." You silently thanked her to the high heavens before following her up the stairs. Your feet dragged with every step you took, the exhaustion turning your limbs to lead. She opened a white door at the top of the stairs, luckily for you the closest one. Inside was a full sized bed. Sure, there were other items, but that's all you noticed at the moment. You stumbled in, faceplanting onto the mattress and sighing happily. "You can sleep here, we'll talk about what we're gonna do next in the morning, okay?" You nodded, making a noise to show you understood. "...Feel better, (y/n)."

  
And with that, the door clicked shut. You lifted your head up from the mattress momentarily, just long enough to gaze around the room. It was cozy even if it was unfamiliar. With tired arms, you pulled yourself up the top of the bed where the pillows lay, yanked the covers down, and slid your body inside. Finally feeling comfortable and cozy for the first time in awhile, you pulled the comforter up to your chin and shut your eyes. For a moment, everything was perfect.

  
Your nightstand table was next to you, your closet on the wall nearby. You could unplug your cell phone and play a mind-numbing app that would drain your bank account. Your makeup vanity was across the room, next to the entrance to your bathroom. Your mom was just a hall away, slumbering away after saving lives. A smile crept its way onto your lips, imagining the comforting smell of your home floating under your nose.

  
You got so lost in your fantasy that you forgot it was just that; a fantasy. And when your eyes opened and you were met with a blank beige wall, not the art you had been expecting. It was enough of a shock to jolt you back, and then to have your heart sinking a mile a minute. Right, home was gone. Home didn't exist anymore. Your mom wasn't home- you had no idea where she was. Your breath caught in your throat despite you commanding yourself to take even inhales, to exhale slowly. Before you can stop yourself you pull your head under the covers- tears streaming down your face.

  
You try to groan out in frustration, but it ends with you just openly sobbing. All your shock wore off, you were left with nothing but the pain of being uprooted from your life from a darkness that you didn't even know existed a couple of weeks ago. You sobbed in the privacy of a closed room, your body wracked with the effort of expelling all the sadness and self-pity from your soul. You only paused when you heard something fall followed by a whispered curse.

  
You froze, clutching the sheets to your chest while the comforter hid your face and blazing blush. You took a couple of deep breaths but could still hear shuffling. "Who's there?" you croaked out, your voice sounding too weak for your own liking. There was a heavy silence that hung in the air, the intruder knowing they were caught. With any luck, it would be Sora and he would just run away and pretend he hadn't seen anything. Of course, that's not the way your life worked out.

  
"No...one?" You recognized that voice. You immediately sat up, throwing the covers off you with a sigh of annoyance.

  
"What do you want?" you demanded of Demyx, glaring at him as fiercely as you could with your puffy eyes and glistening cheeks. It wouldn't strike fear into many, but, luckily, it was Demyx. He immediately pulled his limbs further away from you, arms raised in the air and leg coming up to brace himself as if you were going to hit him.

  
"Not listening to you cry, absolutely not!" Your eyes rolled, a hand reaching up to wipe the leftover tears from your face.

  
"I wasn't even crying," you mumbled, angry that he had caught you in such a vulnerable state.

  
"Of course not!" he agreed, standing back up straight, waving his hands in front of him. The blonde was very animated, using body language to express himself quite frequently. "I, uh, came to apologize? For what I definitely didn't do. Had no part of, okay? It's important you now that. Through no fault of my own did this happen. But, um, yeah. I'm very sorry." He finished his rambling speech with a firm nod, seemingly proud of himself. You stared at him openly, wondering if he could be possibly serious until you eventually laughed, shaking your head. It was literally impossible to stay mad at him. You laughed hard, so hard you started crying again, this time for a very different reason.  
Demyx, however, saw tears and immediately went into panic mode. "No! I said I didn't do it!" he assured, running over to stand to the side of where you lay, crouching to his knees. You finally looked up to see his panicked face and let out a snort, trying to catch your breath once more as your fingers chased away tears for the second time that day.

  
"Demyx, I'm so sorry that I got mad at you. I know it wasn't your fault, okay? Please don't be angry with me." Relief washed over the sitar player's face at your words, visibly relaxing as you reached over to squeeze his hand.

  
"I couldn't be angry at you, (y/n), it's not your fault you're having to deal with all of this. It's not mine, either, though," he added, making sure blame was placed somewhere very very far away from him. You nodded, sitting up further in bed. So much for your nap. You let out a yawn, stretching your arms above your head.

  
"Whose fault is it, anyway?"

  
"Huh? Oh, Xemnas. He wants to finish Kingdom Hearts, remember?" Demyx reminded you, tapping your forehead. The motion reminded you of Axel, whom you hadn't seen in a while either. Your heart gripped at the bittersweetness of the memory, but you pushed it off.

  
"Demyx, why do you run around with them?" It was a loaded question. But, one that needed to be asked. You didn't understand how someone so sweet could get wrapped up in a group so downright evil. Demyx blew air out of his lungs, puffing out his cheeks. This was a question he'd never wanted to answer.

  
"Well, I guess cause they're on my side." Your head tilted to the side, not quite understanding. Demyx shifted himself so he was sitting on the edge of the bed facing you. "My best chance at getting my heart-any heart-back is Kingdom Hearts being completed. So, yeah, we're on the same team, I think." he nodded once, looking away from you with a self-deprecating grin. Your heart fell- an act you were suddenly so much more aware of.

  
"Are you...sure you don't have a heart?" Now it was his turn to look at you with confusion.

  
"Nobodies don't have hearts."

  
"I know that that's what you may think, but I've been around you. I see fear in your eyes, I can see the joy in your smile when you look at the moon, when you play your sitar. I've heard you laugh, I can hear concern in your voice when you think something happened to me. That doesn't happen without a heart." You spoke with conviction, staring straight into Demyx's eyes even if he was avoiding looking at you.

  
"That's not how it works, (y/n)." Demyx almost felt the sensation of butterflies in his stomach. It was like you'd taken his theories and spoken them to him and him alone, like you read his mind. But he couldn't risk himself getting caught up in that in fear of The Organization turning him into a dusk. "We have ghosts of emotions We know how things are supposed to feel, but we don't actually get to. It's a cruel joke." The air in the room had gotten tense. You wondered if Demyx really didn't have a heart, if he could cry. Because he looked like he might if he kept going on. That is until he steeled his expression. You could physically see his jaw tensing under his flesh.

  
"Well...there's one way we could know for sure," you offered, shrugging in an attempt to lighten the mood. He finally looked up to you, curiosity getting the better of him. "I could just cut you open and look for myself!" You lunged forward, your hand aiming for his chest. You knocked him down onto the bed, your fingers tickling at the fabric above his heart. He swatted at you, laughing loudly as he wriggled around, despite his previous poor mood.

  
"Stop it! Stop it!' he pleaded. You just gave out an evil laugh and continued the tickle torture, moving your fingers down to assault his sides next. Demyx was writhing beneath you, your legs straddled over his hips as you giggled, overjoyed at seeing his face screwed up in laughter. He was gasping for air, pushing at your hands. "What are you doing to me?! Stooooop!" he begged again, and you finally relented, pausing your hands and rolling off him. You landed at his side, laughing crazily yourself now. The water manipulators arms were clutching his stomach, finally calming himself and catching his breath.

  
"You suck!" he finally got out, a wide smile on his face as he turned his head to look at you. You paused your own giggling fit to stick your tongue out in his direction, wherein he tried to capture it between his gloved fingers. You snapped your jaw shut, sitting up straight again.

  
"You gotta be quicker than that," you teased, shrugging with a smirk. You finally collapse back down against the pillows, sliding underneath the covers like you had been before Demyx had interrupted you. "I don't know how Kairi didn't hear that and come running," you mumble under your breath, speaking just to yourself as you eyes your door. Deciding not to think about it, you patted the spot next to you, motioning for the nobody to join you. "Come on, Dem. Take a nap with me?" you requested. Demyx looked up at the clock above your door and then back to you before sighing and standing up only to reposition himself back down next to you.

  
You smiled and quickly rolled next to his form, curling up beside him. Demyx spluttered a little while your eyes were already closed, your arms tucked up and leaned against his. He didn't really know what to do, but went ahead and slung his arm above the pillows. Seeming to enjoy the newest revelation, you scooted closer and rest your head on top of the arm he'd moved. "Good night, Demyx," you said sleepily. It had been a very long day, and now that you had made peace with just about everything that had been bothering you, sleep found you fast.

  
"Good night, (y/n)," Demyx responded, looking down at you. He couldn't stay long, but indulging you was the least he could do after he'd pissed you off so bad earlier. You slept peacefully, not moving for at least an hour. Demyx nodded off here and there for periods of ten minutes or so, nothing substantial. When you moved, it was only closer, as if you needed more warmth in the strange house. Once he could stay no longer, he looked down to you once more. He wouldn't wake you purposefully, and only hoped you wouldn't move due to him disappearing. Before summoning a portal, he warred with himself for a moment. His self-indulgent side won out in the end and he moved to kiss the crown of your head while he silently thanked you. He wasn't sure if he had a heart or not, but it felt good to have someone else on his side at last.

  
\---

  
The second he disappeared from (y/n)'s new room, he reappeared in the room where nothing gathers, already uncomfortable in his stiff chair. He wished he had just stayed in the comfy bed and skipped the meeting, but that would mean more trouble. He sighed, leaning on his fist as more members appeared. He hadn't been first, but he definitely didn't want to make the mistake of being last again. Cleaning duty was the worst, man.

  
"Reports." The leader demanded the moment the last member joined. Demyx swallowed hard.

  
"Nothing."

  
"No one there."

  
"Nada."

  
"Negative, my liege."

  
"Bone dry."

  
Every eye turned to Demyx when he didn't answer. He sat up straight in his seat, looking around.

  
"Huh? Can you repeat the question?" he asked nervously. Oh man, if he lied he could be punished really bad, but (y/n) would get captured if he told the truth.   
"I asked for your report on Hollow Bastion," Xemnas boomed again, used to Demyx's weird answers at this point.

  
"Oh. Nope, never saw 'em. Nothing there. Just a lot of unruly dusks, by the way. Wouldn't listen to a word I had to say," he added, trying to divert the attention away from the matter at hand.

  
"I wouldn't either," Xaldin chimed in, a deep chuckle emanating from his chest. Nuxciel followed up with a laugh of his own, still getting used to everyone's behaviors.

  
"Oh, very funny," Demyx shot, crossing his arms, secretly glad that his plan had worked.

  
"Silence," Xemnas demanded, his eyes still glaring at the Melodious Nocturne. "You said Hollow Bastion was empty?" Demyx couldn't bring himself to make eye contact, so he maintained eye-to-shoulder contact instead.

  
"That's right<" he confirmed, albeit his voice was a little less believable this time...and it hadn't been exceedingly believable in the first place.

  
"Well, what a tragedy. I suppose that if we sent Nuxciel to follow up, he'd find the same? For training exercises, of course." Oh, crap.

  
"Absolutely. It's like no one believes me here." Demyx pulled his hood up so no one could see his face anymore. This was bad, this was very very bad.

  
Across the aisle, Axel's eyes narrowed considerably. "Hey, boss. Why don't I take the rookie? Show him how it's really done."

  
"Alright. You both have your missions for tomorrow. Everyone else will be assigned new worlds upon exit time. Adjourned." With a poof of black smoke, he was gone at the meeting was over. Members left here and there, but Axel made sure to stay long enough to shoot Demyx a look before he left. A look that said that he knew what the blonde was hiding- and he'd done a bad job at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [crying in 1000 hits]  
> You guys are so good to me, and I was watching all day (in between writing) to watch the hit counter cross the 1K mark, and I genuinely squealed when I saw I'd passed it! I wanted to say out of the deepest appreciation that I love anyone who's ever bothered to read what I write in my spare time to sate my need to express my love for this game, even if they decide they don't like it and never come back. I love u all so much, you all have such a special place in my heart!   
> I'm thinking about doing some sort of giveaway of a one-shot with their favorite boy to celebrate! On a somewhat similar note, I wanted to add that if you ever feel the need to want to make fan art or anything else they've done for this story, even if it's a random meme that reminded them of something a character said, PLS LET ME KNOW!! SHARE WITH THE CLASS!!! I want to cry and frame them, okay?   
> In conclusion, thank you, I love you all!! I hope you continue to enjoy this story and indulge yourself in my Halloween stories (I'm adding one a week!) as well!  
> Peace and blessings, peace and blessiiiinnnns,  
> -Minnie


	19. Escape Route

_It seemed like no sooner had your eyes shut than they were torn open by the bright white light shining through your lids. You blinked a few times and looked around, taking in your surroundings. The second you saw the first pillar, your heart sank. It was a room you hadn't seen in awhile. "I asked for your report on Hollow Bastion." Your head turned slowly towards the source of the sound that just boomed throughout the gathering room._

  
_"Oh. Nope, never saw 'em. Nothing there. Just a lot of unruly dusks, by the way. Wouldn't listen to a word I had to say." Your head whipped around to the other side of the room, panic seeping into your blood. Why in the worlds was Demyx the worst liar? Nothing sounded more suspicious! To your disbelief, someone started joking with the blonde, causing you to wonder if anyone could buy that lie._

  
_"Silence," Xemnas demanded. No, your goose was cooked anyway. "You said Hollow Bastion was empty?" At this point, you weren't sure if continuing to lie would be the right or wrong choice here._

  
_"That's right," Demyx mumbles, his voice wavering. You smack your palm to your forehead._

  
_"Well, what a tragedy. I suppose that if we sent Nuxciel to follow up, he'd find the same? For training exercises, of course." Shit._

  
_"Absolutely. It's like no one believes me here." 'Because you're a bad liar!' you wanted to scream but could find no voice. Oh man, your poor goose was burnt at this point._

_Demyx pulled up his hood, causing you to shake your head as your eyes narrowed, arms crossing._

  
_"Hey, boss," That voice made your heart skip a beat. It was one you hadn't heard in too long. You turned around, looking at a chair across from Demyx. "Why don't I take the rookie? Show him how it's really done." Axel knew about your burnt goose. He was a smart cookie._

  
_"Alright. You both have your missions for tomorrow. Everyone else will be assigned new worlds upon exit time. Adjourned."_

  
\---

  
You were launched out of your sleep promptly, sitting up and clutching your heart. You took a few deep breaths as you looked around at your surroundings, noting that you were back in Hollow Bastion. Once you'd fully woken up, you nodded to yourself. "We have to leave," you spoke out loud, the crackle in your voice suggesting that you'd slept for longer than you thought. You throw the bedsheets from your body, standing up quickly. You stumble for a moment as you fight to find your shoes, but are hopping out your room in no more than just a few seconds.

  
"KAIRIIIII!" you call, sliding your heel into the bottom of your shoe. Once you found purchase, you sprinted down the stairs and towards the kitchen, where you could hear rattling and shuffling noises. "Kairi!" you gasp out, slamming the fridge door shut, revealing a blinking Sora, spoon in his mouth.

  
"Huh?" he asks, the spoon clattering to the floor. "Oh, sh-" he mumbles, bending down to pick it up.

  
"Sora, no! We gotta get out of here?"

  
"Huh? Why?" Sora asks, eyebrows turned inward as he walks the spoon to the sink. You began to grow frustrated that he wasn't immediately and blindly trusting you. You raised your hand in the air, speaking with the appendage.

  
"I had one of my dreams!" you explain with an annoyed tone.

  
"About what?" The voice came from behind you, causing you to spin on the spot. You felt instant relief upon seeing Riku, knowing he would know what you were trying to convey. He stood in front of the doorway, his arm outstretched behind his body to close the door, moving to cross with the other once he heard a click.

  
"Riku, I had a dream about The Organization. Xemnas might know we're here, and I don't think we wanna be around for him to find out," you relay, stress seeping out of your pores. Riku calmly nods, looking over to Sora.

  
"Get Kairi and tell Leon we have to go, I'll get the gummi ship ready," Riku instructs, causing Sora to sigh, placing his snack back in the fridge.

  
"Alright, where are we going?"

  
"To the King." It was a simple statement, one that you didn't quite understand completely but accepted nonetheless.

  
"I'm flying!" Sora called over his shoulder after walking towards the door.

  
"I'll get some barf bags," Riku snickered, closing the door behind his friend. You looked at Riku anxiously, waiting for your orders. Your hands were fiddling with each other, refusing to rest at your sides. Riku took note, walking over and gripping your shoulders, looking into your eyes. "We're going to be fine. We don't run from Nobodies, we kick their asses. We just have to talk to King Mickey first. I know you're new to this but it's pretty standard stuff for the rest of us," he added with a chuckle at the end.

  
You took a deep breath, nodding as he spoke. Right, this was just scary because you were new to the whole 'keyblade warrior' experience, that's all. Nothing more to it. "Right," you agreed, giving a small smile. "I'm sure these jerks have nothing on Maleficent, huh?" You got another laugh from your silver-haired friend who gave you a smack on the shoulder he held before releasing you.

  
"I'd take a million Xemnases over one Maleficent any day of the week. They all reek of darkness, anyway," you wrinkle your nose, imagining for yourself what that would be. As you were following Riku outside, a thought occurred to you.

  
"Wait, I never smelled anything on Axel. Or Demyx," you added, thinking back to the time you spent with them.

  
"Once you live in the darkness, it's all you know. Scent appears then. Count yourself lucky." You laughed, shrugging it off. "Not too lucky, though. You still have to survive Sora's flying."

  
\---

  
Axel zipped his robe up, the same as normal. Slid his hands into his gloves and zipped his boots up all the way. His hair formed perfect spikes, giving him his classic sly-hedgehog appearance. He departed his room early that day; without much of anything to do, there was no reason to stay in a confined area. He was strolling through the halls of the castle, enjoying the silence hen something had to ruin it. A second set of footsteps echoed from behind-Axel almost sprinting down the hall to avoid whoever it was. He thought better at the last second and slowed his pace, allowing this newcomer to catch up.

  
"Axel," the voice spoke. Axel didn't know this voice well but knew immediately who it came from.

  
"Nuxciel," he greeted, refusing to look away from the spot ahead of him as he continued his stroll.

  
"We should depart on our mission soon." Axel smirked to himself, placing his hands in his pockets.

  
"Listen, kid, I get that you're new and eager, but I don't leave anywhere before breakfast. Calm down. Demyx said the area was clear. There'll still be nothing there if we wait an hour." With a clap on the new nobody's back, Axel sped his pace slightly, clearly ending the conversation. For a moment, he was sure that was exactly what he had done. However, a moment later, the walls around him started shaking and a piercing noise punctured his ears. Axel immediately fell into a crouch, covering his ears as his teeth grit.   
His head whipped around to glare at Nuxciel, whose mouth was slightly parted, his hand resting against the wall. In an instant, his mouth shut and the walls stopped quaking. Axel's hands fell from his ears as he slowly stood again, his eyebrows pointing further forward to level a glare on his traveling companion. "You've been practicing," the fiery redhead commented, malice in his voice.

  
"I want to get this over with and be back before anyone else," Nuxciel said calmly, his own gaze fearless. Axel scoffed, nodding to himself.

  
"Alright, rookie, we'll play it your way today. But you'd do good to avoid playing with fire in the future." Axel's hand reached out to push Nuxciel out of his way, taking care to make sure his grip would be exceptionally hot. In fact, the portal he called was adorned with flames, also. He walked through it without looking over his shoulder to see if Nuxciel was following behind.

  
\---

  
"Do you think Disney Castle will have clothes we could borrow?" you ask Kairi, picking at the dirty clothes adorning your frame currently as you trailed after the boys. Kairi sighed, looking down at her dress.

  
"I hope so. I'm getting sick of running around and having this ride up," she complains, pulling down on the fabric as if it was a reminder. You gave her a sympathetic look, silently thanking God that you'd made it out while wearing pants. Truthfully, what you wanted most now was a shower and a good meal: both of which you'd been promised upon arrival. So now, the quartet of you were walking towards a gummi ship that had been lent to you. (The gummi ship had not come with a name, so the boys had decided to take it upon themselves to come up with a name [" _Highwind!_ " "YOU CAN'T NAME EVERYTHING _HIGHWIND_ , RIKU!"])

  
Everyone who lived here in Hollow Bastion had been alerted to the fact that Organization members were going to be snooping around for more than likely a few days, and so the special defense system had been upped. You found yourself dodging the cylinders that rose more often than not, wondering why they had pegged you of all people as an enemy. You could see the gummi ship in the distance and cringed externally at the child-like crude primary colored design. You were expecting something sleek and black maybe, definitely not that. "Oh wow," you whispered under your breath.

  
"She's a beauty, ain't she?" Sora asked, beaming proudly.

  
"Uh, well, she's uh-"

  
"Well, well, well, look who we have here in honeycomb hideout," a familiar voice drawled from behind. You turned excitedly, eager to lock onto your friend after a long period of missing him. You grinned widely when you spotted the fire wielder perched on top of a jutting rock, sitting lazily with his legs dangling off the edge. "I'm actually not here for the milk and cookies, though." Everyone else's reactions were not nearly as eager as yours, and from the chorus of "Axel!"'s that rang out from your party, yours was the only that sounded positive. "Miss me, MC?" he looked directly at you.

  
"(y/n), don't tell me you're still friends with him?" Riku's voice was harsh and you suddenly felt like a kid caught coloring on the walls, the hair on the back of your neck standing up.

  
"Wha- still?" Sora asked, causing you to hunch over further.

  
"Uh, well," you started, turning back to your friends and smiling awkwardly. They did not share your expression. Riku was next to glaring while Sora and Kairi were struck with pure confusion. You felt a sudden warmness behind you followed by an arm hooking around your shoulder, pulling you close.

  
"Jealous?" Axel teased, a smirk high on his features. You elbowed him slightly, forcing him to take a micro-step sideways and give you more space.

  
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Nuxciel?" you ask, cutting straight to the chase. For a rare moment, confusion actually rang over his sharp features. You explained that you had a premonition, and that's why you were leaving. Axel's grip on your shoulder tightened as he laughed, shaking his head.

  
"You mean you don't want to come back with me to the big scary castle in the dark world where no one with a heart steps foot?" You chuckled nervously, looking back to your party. They all had their arms crossed, ready to leave.

  
"Are you going to let us go or do you want to get your ass beat?" Riku called out, sick of the charades.

  
"Oh, I don't care what you do. It's Nuxciel you have to watch out for."

  
"Where is he?" you asked, feeling nervous again.

  
"Right here," Someone spoke from above you. You could make out a figure in a robe similar in fashion to Axel's standing on a much higher rock than he had with his hood up. You immediately broke out of Axel's grasp, reaching out and grasping your keyblade as you walked backward to stand with the group who had theirs pulled as well.  
"Don't just stand up there, do something!" Sora taunted, his stance putting himself protectively in front of Kairi-who, you must add, looked plenty menacing as she gripped Destiny's Embrace tightly.

  
"As you wish," Nuxciel agreed, hopping down from his spot on top of the rock. Sora and Riku were the first to run towards him, charging with their keyblades poised to attack. They were sent flying back before they had much chance to do anything, the ground shaking as a loud ringing sounded through the ear. The boys collapsed with their backs on the ground, blown back a few feet from the force as you and Kairi covered your ears and turned away.

  
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" you shouted over the noise, squinting as you looked back towards the nobody.

  
Sora raised his keyblade weakly before shouting "WIND!". Nuxciel was caught off balance and blown backward himself, his hood falling. You stood straight again, looking forward as Sora and Riku took off running in your direction. Nuxciel rose again, ready to continue his attacks. Before the vibration affected you again, you got a clear view of his face. A sense of recognition came over you immediately. Who was he?

  
"(y/n), we gotta go!" Riku yelled in your ear, hooking an arm around your sand pulling you away. You ran with him towards the gummi ship, looking back over your shoulder as you went, unable to pinpoint how you knew him.

  
"Axel, stop them!" Nuxcciel cried for backup, his attacks losing power as they went out of range.

  
"No, stop, sit," Axel spoke boredly, inspecting his gloves for excess bits of fuzz he could pick off. As he saw the door to the gummi ship close, he stood straight, cracking his fingers. He walked over to Nuxciel who was looking at him with disbelief. "Remember your ranking. They're going to believe me, not you. If you don't want to be a dusk, you'll go with what I say. Got it memorized?" With a tap to Nuxciel's forehead, Axel disappeared, leaving your group to escape freely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [walks in after two weeks of no updates with starbucks]  
> THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE!! The week of stress is over and I'm back and better than ever <3  
> Playlists will resume next Sunday and the plot is slowly chuggin' along. Ps, if any of you get this chapter's reference I'll llove u forever   
> -Minnie


	20. Sleeping Souls

_Your vision was blurry around the edges and amber tinted, causing you to jerk your head around to figure out why. You took in sights that were familiar enough; A palm tree, sand on the sides of the road, and the sidewalk leading up to your childhood home. Your eyebrows furrowed, wondering exactly when you had gotten here, and when your vision had started giving out on you. You were standing to the side of the sidewalk, the dew from the grass leaving droplets on your boots. It was very clearly morning time, and, from the slight breeze you felt, sometime around the end of Spring and beginning of Summer._

  
_As you looked skyward in confusion, something zoomed by you on the pavement. You flinched back a step, unwilling to be run over. "Slow down, (y/n)!" a laughing voice yelled, running after whatever had just flown by. Your heart froze, blood leaving your face at a quick rate. Mom. Without even thinking, you ran after her, tearing through the sidewalk like it was trying to take her away from you._

  
_"Mom!" you tried to yell, but your voice made no sound. You clutched your throat, trying again to make any form of noise to no avail._

  
_It was just a dream. You instantly felt your heart sink back down into the depths of your stomach as you realized you were unable to grab her, hold her, keep her safe. It was just a dream. You eventually slowed to a stop, catching up with your mom and the thing she had been chasing- a younger version of you on a bike. You smiled bitterly at the scene, remembering it well. You watched as mini-you clambered off the bicycle and threw it to the ground, placing your foot on it as you double fist-pumped in victory and gave your best war cry._

  
_"Mama, I did it! I learned how to ride it all by myself!" you exclaimed, throwing your tiny arms around your mother's neck. She returned the embrace, rubbing your back._

  
_"I'm so proud of you, baby girl! You really did it!" You smiled fondly, tears pricking at your eyes as you reminisce about simpler times. Just as you're about to turn from the scene, something you don't remember happens. "Did you get it all, honey?" Your mom's head turns backward, looking at a form approaching. As you look up, your vision gets steadily blurrier. Who is this?! You rub at your eyes furiously, trying to clear any ailment preventing you from figuring out just who was impeding on your memory. When you reopen them, you can only make out three blobs close together, the sound of laughter filling the air._

  
\---

  
You woke peacefully for once, only blinking a few times to get your bearings. Luckily, you noted, your vision had returned to full capacity. What a weird ass dream. You look ahead, past Sora's head to look outside. Disney Castle was visible from the windshield of the gummi ship. It was struck on top of a globe and rotating slowly. "Oh wow," you whisper quietly, staring intently. Sora jumps a little, not expecting anyone to be awake after such a long drive.

  
"Oh, (y/n), you're awake!" You nod, smiling at him warmly as you fight off the last remaining remnants of sleep. "We're gonna land in just a minute."

  
You settle yourself back against the seat, looking over the beauty of the castle once more. "It's beautiful," you comment, nodding towards the white and blue towers. Sora shrugs, beginning his descent.

  
"It's pretty, but it's nothing on Beast's Castle," he grins. You move to ask who 'Beast' is, but decide against it when you see Riku stirring awake in front of you. You lean forward, tickling his neck to help him out. He immediately laughs, flinching away from your touch.

  
"Morning, lazy bum," you tease.

  
"Like you weren't just asleep five minutes ago," he grumbles back, rubbing his eye. His voice is thick with sleep, stopping your heart for a second before you power through it.

  
"Don't drag me," you reply simply, more focused on something else. "Hey, Reeks, is there any way the Organization could be screwing with my dreams?" Riku's head lifted at this, turning back to look at you.

  
"Hmm? Why?"

  
"WE'RE HEEEEEREEEE!" Sora yelled, landing the ship with a bit of a shake, jolting Kairi awake.

  
"What?" she called, jumping out of sleep.

  
"WE'RE HEEEEEREEEE!" Sora repeated in the same loud singsong voice, jumping out of his seat and running out of the ship.

  
"Christ, someone should've tripped him!" you complain, digging your finger into your ear in an attempt to stop the ringing as you follow him.   
"Hey...!" Kairi called out, ready to defend her love. Until she heard ringing in her ears as well. "...Maybe just a little," she finally agreed. You laughed for a moment before turning your head over your shoulder.

  
"Coming?" You had a brief flashback of meeting like this in English class, bringing a smile to your lips. Riku saw this and smiled back, nodding and following after you.

  
\---

  
A few minutes later and you were walking down the hall, an adorable chipmunk riding on either shoulder. You'd all but died when you met them, squealing over whatever they were trying to say. Cut to present tense, and Chip and Dale were adorning your shoulders like fine jewelry. You had decided this was your favorite world you'd been to. It was filled with talking chipmunks, giant walking dogs, and a sassy duck. Donald had already threatened to whack you with his staff if you tried to pet him one more time and Goofy had "Gawrsh!"'d his way into your heart.

  
Now you, Sora, Kairi, Riku, Chip, Dale, Donald, and Goofy were marching in a parade towards the King's office. You couldn't help but wonder what kind of adorable animal he would be. Of course, you'd have to hold your joy in a little better for him. he was a king, after all. "Alright guys, make a left here!" Chip said, causing your group to hang a left at the corner.

  
"Wak! I know where I'm going!" Donald complained, crossing his arms as he walked. He was your favorite, you decided just then. Your group reached a very large set of doors, reaching up to the top of the pillars that held the base of the castle.

  
"How...how do we open them?" you ask, leaning over to Kairi. Kairi was thinking the same thing you were, looking the doors up and down.

  
"Maybe it's a team building exercise? If we all balance on ea-" Just then Donald walked forward, pushing open a hidden-mush smaller-door.

  
"Get it together," Riku snorted, following after the rest of the group as you and Kairi both blushed, walking in last.

  
"King Mickey, we brought Sora, Riku, Kairi, and uh...the other girl!" Goofy announced as you all made your way down the aisle. You scoffed, mildly offended. This is why Donald's your favorite. From behind the back of his chair, the King appeared. You had to glance down to see him and immediately slapped your hand over your mouth. He was a mouse! The cutest mouse you'd ever seen! With a swift elbow to the ribs from Riku, you were reminded of your place and fell to one knee with the rest of the visitors.

  
"Oh, ya don't have to be like that," the King spoke, waving his hand and motioning for you all to stand again. This was a test. All you wanted to do was tell him how cute his ears and voice were. And you know what you couldn't do? That.

  
"Your Majesty, the-"

  
"What did I say, Riku?" Riku gave a defeated smile, nodding.

  
"Mickey. The Organization's got someone new." Mickey's eyes narrowed as Riku dove into telling the stories of not only the new organization member, but the mysterious boy in the mask as well. King Mickey listened to him well, and when he was finally finished, he clapped his hands together.

  
"Well, the great thing is you got someone new, too! We haven't met yet, I'm Mickey!" King Mickey greeted, looking at you directly. Your eyes widened before giving him a smile and a small bow.

  
"Your Majesty," you greet, keeping your eyes on him as you rise. "I'm (y/n), it's an honor to meet you! These two have told me amazing things," you speak with a smile, motioning to Sora and Riku. Mickey laughs before looking over to Kairi.

  
"And you must be the famous Kairi. You sure did worry both these boys!"

  
"Mickeeeeeeyyy," the combined sounds of the boys' groans surrounded you, causing you to bust out laughing and Kairi to cross her arms confidently and raise her chin.

  
"Oh, did I now?" she teases, sticking her tongue out at Riku as he waves his hand, shrugging her off. "It's wonderful to meet you, King Mickey," She says sweetly, bowing her head slightly. Mickey returned the gesture before turning to the rest of your party, his eyes narrowed.

  
"So, let's talk about what they could want," he spoke, his voice taking a more serious tone.

  
"Isn't it obvious?" Sora interjected, sliding an arm around Kairi's shoulders. "They want Kingdom Hearts."

  
"They want to manipulate the light to evil and they're clearly looking for a new way to get to it. They must be using the masked kid as their new angle, but it doesn't explain their other new member," Riku followed up, crossing his arms. You stood still, listening and nodding along as you didn't have much else to add. Mickey sighed, turning around and walking to his desk. he took a seat and folded his hands together.

  
"A long time ago, before any of you had the Keyblade, there were three wielders. Their names were Terra, Ventus, and Keyblade Master Aqua." He paused for a moment, looking out to make sure everyone was listening. After assuring everyone was paying attention, he continued. "They were just the best of pals, couldn't live without each other. Terra and Aqua had their Mark of Mastery exam on the same day. Aqua prevailed, but Terra gave in to the darkness in his heart and didn't make the cut.

  
"That same day, Terra was sent on a mission. Ven begged him to go too, but Terra wouldn't let him. You see, Ven was a bit younger than Terra and Aqua and they saw him as a little brother. They just wanted to protect him. Ven didn't understand, and he flew off after Terra. After he disappeared, Master Eraqus sent Aqua off to bring him back. Terra was under the supervision of someone else. Master Xehanort." Gasps sounded the room, which pulled you out of the story and made you jump. What were you missing?

  
"Wait, isn't Xehanort the name of Ansem's assistant? The one whose Heartless caused all that trouble?" Sora asked incredulously. Mickey gave a grave nod.

  
"Yes and no. Unfortunately, he was able to manipulate Terra to the point of no return. He used Terra as a vessel from which Terra never escaped. That's who became the heartless you know as Ansem, Seeker of Darkness." Your hand flew to your mouth, shaking your head sadly. "Before the trio came together, Xehanort tried to bring Ven to the darkness. When Ven's light prevailed, Xehanort extracted the darkness from him completely. This created another being completely. Someone named Vanitas.

  
"To unlock Kingdom Hearts, Xehanort learned he needed to meld Ventus and Vanitas together, making an ultimate keyblade called the χ-blade."

  
"χ-blade?" Donald and Goofy spoke at the same time.

  
"I've only seen it once when Vanitas almost prevailed. It's a real big keyblade with two blades formed into one. Xehanort believes that will open the door. He tried to gather all his weapons, but light won. But not without their casualties. You know Terra's fate, but you don't know that Ventus resides in Castle Oblivion, asleep for the past ten years." Sora gave a gasp, his fist tightening, the story hitting a little too close to home.

  
"Aqua went into the realm of darkness to find a way to wake him up, never to be seen again." This time it was Riku's jaw to clench, his eyes to narrow. "And Vanitas, well, he wasn't seen again either. Until (y/n) saw him in her dream, that is."

  
"Wait, what?" you blurted out, your eyes widening as everyone turned to look at you. "That asshole is Vanitas? How's that possible?"

  
"Yeah! Shouldn't he be gone by now?" Goofy questioned, just as shocked as the rest of you.

  
"He should be. I don't know why he's here but if he is, you can bet someone in the Organization is trying to form the χ-blade again."

  
"We need to rescue Ventus," Riku observed, knowing it to be fact.

  
"Exactly. He'll be much safer in our hands, even if he's still asleep," Mickey confirmed.

  
"Someone needs to get Aqua out of the realm of darkness," he mused again.

  
"Well, n-"

  
"I'll do it," Riku declared. Looking Mickey right in the eyes. You looked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

  
"Riku, are you sure? You don't need to do that, there has to be another way." He didn't look at you as he spoke, keeping his convictions true.

  
"If anyone can get her out, it's me. I'll do it."

  
"Let's not make any rash decisions yet, okay? It's getting late, we'll talk more tomorrow," the King spoke, putting the room into a more easy setting. "Donald, Goofy? Will you show them to their rooms?" The duo nodded, starting the treck out of the room. You eventually tore your eyes away from Riku before giving his hand a firm squeeze.

  
\---

  
You exited the shower, a puff of steam surrounding you and fogging up the mirror. It felt so good to let the hot water run over your aching muscles that you had stayed in there for probably too long. You encircled yourself in a fresh towel, marveling at the soft feel. When you ran the brush through your hair, you were feeling more yourself than you had in a while. Eventually, you had gotten yourself dry and put on the pajamas the King had lent you. As you were walking to your bed, a knock was heard at your door.

  
"Coming!" you called, wondering who would be visiting you this late. When you opened the door, Riku was standing there, wearing a matching set of pajamas. You smiled and gave a small giggle looking him up and down. "Lookin' snazzy. Whats up?"

  
"Got a minute?" He asked. You nodded, letting him in. He entered, closing the door behind him. he ran a hand through his silver hair as he sat on the corner of your bed, causing the strands to fall around his face. "I want you to tell me more about the dream you had." You furrowed your brows, caught off guard. When you realized what he meant, your expression returned to normal.

  
"Oh! That? I just had a strange dream," you shrugged, playing with your fingernails absentmindedly.

  
"Can you just tell me about it?"

  
"I guess. It's nothing, I just was watching one of my childhood memories in the third person, and there was someone in it that I don't remember being there. A lot of my childhood is pretty fuzzy, but I have no idea who this guy could be or why he would be there," you answered, trying to remember as many details as possible. Riku nodded, relaxing a bit.

  
"The Organization has a way to mess with your mind, but I don't know why they'd wanna mess with that," he said, rubbing some sleep from his eyes.

  
"It's not a big deal," you mumbled, sitting beside him. "Are you sure you want to go back into the realm of darkness?" you whispered, almost afraid to ask at a higher volume. Riku shook his head no.

  
"I have to. I know it better than anyone else here, it only makes sense." He looked away from you again, unwilling to look you in the eyes.

  
"I don't like it. King Mickey said Aqua's been there for ten years. What if you get lost in her? I-" you caught yourself, not wanting to say any more. There were already tears threatening to fall from your eyes and you couldn't expose your feelings more than that if you tried.

  
"It'll be fine. I got out once, right?" he assured, giving you a small smile. You forced yourself to give one back before standing up.

  
"Will you stay here tonight? I...don't really feel like being alone," you admitted. If the you from a few weeks ago could see present you now, she'd probably have a heart attack or slap you for being so bold. Riku looked up at you for a second before nodding, standing as well. You threw the covers down the bed and got inside of them, Riku doing the same on the other side. You immediately rolled into his side, curling into a ball there. "Thank you."

  
"Mmmhmm."

  
"I'll still run you through if I have to."

  
"Of course you will. Goodnight."

  
"Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M GONNA KEEP IT REAL WITH YOU CHIEF.....probably don't expect regular updates until after Christmas!! I'm gonna write AS MUCH as I can until then and I'm already working on my Christmas one shots, but idk if I can handle a regular upload schedule until then. I hope u all still love me and as a present HERES AXEL'S PLAYLIST!!! [fanfare blaring loudly]  
> https://8tracks.com/minervamouze/do-you-want-to-b-u-r-n-it-with-me  
> -Minnie


	21. Lazy Afternoons

_The sand underneath your body was incredibly warm and the wind caressing your face carried a slight chill to it, balancing you out completely. Your eyes opened as you raised yourself onto your elbows to look about your surroundings. To your sides laid three more bodies. Those of Sora, Kairi, and Riku. All four of you were fitted in swimsuits, tanning on this beautiful day on the Islands. You gave a small smile and laid back down. This was perfect, a relaxing day away from the stress of school and exams._

  
_Seagulls called all around you, pulling you completely from your lazy state. You raised up to a sitting position, stretching your arms above your heads. "Wake up, you lazy bums, or you'll be lobsters tomorrow," you teased, reaching over to shake the shoulder of Sora, the closest body to you. He turned over completely, grumbling about 'just five more minutes, mom'. You rolled your eyes and kicked sand onto his legs. "Come on, get up!"_

  
_Kairi was the first to rise from her lethargy, stretching much the same as you had. One look at the boys and her eyes were rolling. She crossed her arms, looking down at the back of Sora's head before speaking in a borderline bored voice. "Oh no, (y/n), it looks like our tops came untied while we were laying." Like clockwork, both boys heads lifted and eyes opened. You shook your head, standing up._

  
_"Shameful," you commented, staring at the hint of blush on Riku's cheeks while Kairi smacked the back of Sora's head._

  
_"We just wanted to make sure no one else saw!" Sora exclaimed, sitting up._

  
_"Sora, we gotta take this L," Riku laughed, rubbing his eyes. You chuckled, taking a step further towards the ocean. The second your foot hit the ground, the world shook fiercely. The sand beneath your foot turned to black and the air dropped significantly in temperature._

  
_"What?" you questioned, half breathlessly. You turned to look at your friends, but they had frozen completely in time, covered in the black sand. You reached out to grab Sora, but his form immediately started shaking before disappearing, being replaced by someone who looked like him but had shorter and blonder spikes. He was cloaked in armor that appeared to be frozen, laid on the sand with one hand in the air, as if being attacked and trying to defend himself. You backed away from this new person so quickly that you fell back into the sand._

  
_Once your bottom hit the ground, Kairi's form began to shake uncontrollably as well, finally being replaced by a taller woman with short blue hair. She was surrounded by some form of darkness, her hands reached above to cover her head as she stood in place firmly. "Ri-Riku..." you whispered, backing away. "Please don-" your cries were cut short when Riku's figure began vibrating as well, replaced with a man with brown hair. He was tall and muscled well. He stared into the distance, his fist clenched and his jaw set. He looked as if he knew what was coming for him, as it had come for them. You covered your head with your hands, trapped in this dark and cold beach, your friends disappeared and replaced by these strangers in various forms of peril._

  
_In the distance, a light appeared. The silhouette of a man. He rose a keyblade and pointed it directly at you, light spilling from the center._

  
\---

  
Your eyes snapped open before it could hit you. Your hands searched the bed but found it empty. You looked to the door, knowing in your mind that Riku had woken up before you and simply let you rest rather than wake you up, but the part of your heart still stuck in your dream made the urge to run out and find your friends and assure their safety very prominent. You finally calmed your breathing down, hand over your chest as if it could soothe your pounding heart. Once you stood up and gained full balance on shaky legs, you walked to the closet of your room, wondering if sleeping pills could knock these dreams off. You were sick of waking up in sweats each morning.

  
Inside the closet, you found a full array of very colorful clothes, in every shape and form. Ballgowns, sundresses, slacks, jeans, everything you could imagine. After being stuck in the same outfit for so long, you decided anything would be perfect- but decided to keep it simple. Once you were dressed in the long, slouchy, deep grey v-neck, black leggings, and a pair of sturdy boots, you finally ventured out of your room.

  
When you saw a spackle of bright red hair, you practically bolted down the hall, throwing your arms around Kairi from behind. "You're here!" you exclaimed with a sigh of relief. Kairi stumbled, but altogether laughed and patted your hands circled around her middle.

  
"Bad dream?" she guessed. You nodded against her back before releasing her.

  
"Sorry, I'm just glad you're alright."

  
"It's okay," she promised, smiling at you and grabbing your hand, walking with you now. "Just remember dreams are only dreams, okay?" You smiled in agreement, glad for this newfound friendship. It reminded you so badly of your friend Selphie, but you had to push any memories of her to the back of your mind now. You couldn't worry about her instead of saving her and everyone else you cared about.

  
\---

  
You joined Kairi for a quick breakfast before meeting with Sora, Riku, and the King. The five of you sat at a round table, serious expressions adorning everyone's features.  
"What's the first step?" Sora finally asked, breaking the silence.

  
"I need to find a way into the darkness," Riku stated simply. You let out a breath, looking at Riku with exasperated eyes. It was the first time you'd seen him all morning, and, unfortunately, he looked like he'd gotten about as good of a nights sleep as you had. You wished he had stayed with you longer, or woken you up so you could comfort him- but you knew it was a pipe dream.

  
"Hold on, there, Riku," The King spoke. "The first thing we need to do is rescue Ventus."

  
"And leave Aqua in the darkness when she's already been there ten years?"

  
"Time doesn't exist in th-"

  
"I Know damn well what doesn't exist in the darkness, your majesty," Riku snarled, standing up and slamming his chair back into place before exiting the room. Sora stood up to follow him as you and Kairi stared in shock, not used to seeing Riku be so aggressive around either of you. Mickey motioned for Sora to sit down.

  
"Let him go. He's got every reason to be upset with me. I just don't know what he's gonna do when he hears about why Aqua's stuck there..."

  
"Why is that?" You blurted out, unable to control yourself.

  
"Well, she got stuck there...trying to protect Riku when he first entered."

  
"And you never told him...?" you spoke quietly.

  
"(y/n)..." Sora started softly, trying to be reasonable.

  
"No, that's not right. I'm sorry, King Mickey, but it's wrong that you've kept that from him so long." Kairi nodded next to you, Sora forcing himself to remain neutral.

  
"Well, gee, (y/n), I sure wanted to tell him, but Master Yen Sid forbade it. He said Riku just wouldn't be able to stop himself from going to save Aqua when we weren't ready. And gosh, it looks like he's right." You calmed slightly, biting your tongue. he had a point. You nodded leaning back in your chair.

  
"My apologies," you grumbled.

  
Mickey offered an understanding nod before continuing. "There's two things ya gotta do before we can search for ways to get to Castle Oblivion. You gotta go talk to Master Yen Sid, and you need to talk to Phil over in Olympus and get some training for the new folks."

  
"Alright! We're gonna be true heroes!" Sora cheered, grinning from ear to ear. You, personally, couldn't wait to meet this Yen Sid character.

  
\---

  
The time had come for your quartet to depart Disney Castle. You'd all packed up enough clothes and supplies that the King and Queen had offered to you to last throughout your trip and were saying goodbye in the garden before heading down to the Gummi Hangar. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were having a tearful goodbye, promising to see each other soon. Riku had gone to apologize to King Mickey before departing, knowing he shouldn't have been so rash.

  
You and Kairi stood to the side, duffel bags slewn over your shoulders, awkwardly waiting for the process to end. "We'll have friends like this too eventually," Kairi whispered to you. You gave a small chuckle and nodded, glad to have her going through this with you.

  
"Ready?" Riku asked the both of you, walking over with a bittersweet-looking Sora to his side.

  
"Absolutely!" You and Kairi spoke in unison, smiling at each other after. Riku's eyes rolled, brushing past the both of you and to the Gummi Hangar. You waved goodbye to the inhabitants of the castle over your shoulder as you followed suit, rushing up to be by his side.

  
"How ya' doin', champ?" you questioned, falling into a leisurely stroll once more.

  
"Never been better," Riku brushed off, opening the door to the hangar for you. You thanked him and entered, waiting for the rest of the group before beginning to head towards your ship.

  
"You could've woken me up before you left this morning, you know. I was worried," you admitted, stepping onto the ship before he could answer. You fastened yourself into your seat, leaning back and getting ready for what you were sure was going to be a long journey.

  
\---

  
The ship touched down relatively calmly. It had been a little shaky on the trip over. Sora called it turbulence, you and Riku called it being distracted by a pretty world. Kairi had been called in by her boyfriend to take her side, and so it had been equaled out and the point dropped. The timing on the flights hadn't been bad, but you were excited to see ground nonetheless. Once you exited the ship, you had a hand above your eyebrows and were squinting.

  
"It's sunset already?" you questioned, looking away from the sun in your eyes.

  
"Twilight," Sora answered your remark, grinning ear to ear. "We're in Twilight Town. It's always like this."

  
"This is where Yen Sid lives?" Kairi asked, looking around at all the buildings as you entered what appeared to be the town square.

  
"No, but you have to come here to get there," Riku answered this time, stretching his arms across his chest.

  
"Snack time!" Sora chimed in, perking up. "Donald said the Sea Salt Ice Cream here is awesome!"

  
"Sea salt...ice cream? Blech," you stuck your tongue out, wondering how in the hell salty milk was supposed to taste good. "No thank you, I think I'll do some exploring instead," you spoke, shaking your head.

  
"I'll go with you," Riku spoke up, already separating himself from the group.

  
"No, you go and get some food. I'm a big girl, I'll be okay. Meet you guys back at the Gummi Ship in thirty, right?" You didn't wait for an answer before heading into a tunnel with a giant number 2 over it. Once alone in the depths of what must be an underground traveling system, you let out a deep breath and slouched your shoulders a little, allowing yourself to relax. It felt nice to have private time again, even in times like these.

  
Your footsteps echoed loudly, their noise being the only thing filling your ears. You navigated the path clumsily, not caring if you get lost. You were looking at an exit when you heard the noise of something appearing behind you. You turned your head, gazing over your shoulder at the three tall white objects gliding towards you. You recognized them as the creatures Demyx had been trying to control back in Hollow Bastion. "Ew," you spoke, your keyblade appearing in your hand with a clanging noise.

  
You rushed at the creatures, letting out battle grunts and exclamations as you slashed your way through their slinky forms. You spun around the white bodies quickly to confuse them, gliding on the ground like it was ice. After whacking the last one mercilessly, it disappeared- leaving bubbles behind instead of munny. "Thanks for nothing," you grumbled, stepping through them. You felt something within you glow but ignored it as you pressed through to finally step through the exit you'd been aiming for.   
In front of you was a bright square, a building to your left as you exited. Stands for various snacks were somewhat nearby through the archway, but you ignored them for now. Instead, you craned your neck up all the way to see just how far this tower went up. The building was very tall and had an extremely large clock with Roman numerals decorating it. A ledge that you assumed maintenance workers used for when things went awry was just visible from where you stood. And you weren't quite sure, but you could swear you saw a flash of red and black up there.

  
\---

  
You'd found the staircase that led to the top of the tower and climbed the nearly twelve flights to reach it. Just as you expected, there sat one of your favorite Nobodies. You calmly walked over and sat next to him, your back facing the drop below. He faced the opposite direction, one leg bent enough to rest his arm on, a blue popsicle between his fingers. Seeing as you had no death wish, this would work well enough for conversation.

  
"How bad are you supposed to be killing me right now?" you ask- greetings out the window at this point.

  
"Supposed to be? I'm planning on throwing you over this ledge when you're least expecting it, got it memorized?" The glare he shot you genuinely scared you to your core, but you refused to let it show on your face.

  
"If I go, I'm taking you with me," you half-joked, grabbing hold of the hem of his robes just as a precaution. Axel lazily opened a portal and then closed it, showing you he wasn't worried about your minor threat. Your eyes rolled as you let go, making the confident decision to turn yourself around, legs dangling over the edge now. "Whatcha got there?" you questioned, not used to this quiet of an Axel. The redhead simply reached over, pressing the popsicle to your lips. You looked at him, eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion as you slowly parted your lip, taking the smallest nibble from the base.

  
"Oh, blech!" You yelled, sticking your tongue out immediately. "Salty milk!" you complained, your face screwing up.

  
"Keep going," Axel encouraged, eyes never once leaving the sunset. You reluctantly pulled your tongue back in, smacking your lips and hoping to keep as much of the offending substance from your taste buds.

  
Finally, your eyes widened, your fingers finding your lips. You cocked your head to the side, intrigued by this change of events. "...Sweet?" you nearly questioned, unsure of your own tastebuds now. The flavor had gone from pure salt to something akin to that of a chocolate covered potato chip, or yogurt covered pretzels. Something very, very, delicious.You didn't like it. Your head shook, instead sitting back and enjoying the view with Axel, him taking a bite of his ice cream every few moments. "You know, I never expected the fire-breather to enjoy anything cold."

  
"So I breathe the fire now, huh?" Axel teased, a mocking tone to his voice, eyes lighting up only a little as he broke his gaze with the horizon to raise an eyebrow at you.

  
"Wouldn't be news to me," you shrugged.

  
"And what magic do you have, MC?" Axel questioned, his attention now fully on you, ripping another section of ice cream from the stick.

  
"I don't have any," you replied, cocking your head to the side. "Is that not something just unique to you?"

  
"Oh no," Axel laughed, his head shaking. "All your little friends can produce fire too. Not like me, of course, but who could even try to compete with me? Don't worry, I'm sure you're just a late bloomer." Axel waved his hand, polishing the ice cream off completely. His eyes searched the stick, sighing once reading both sides. "Another dud. Bummer." And then he tossed the stick over the front of the tower.

  
"Axel!" you gasped, smacking him with the back of your hand. But your scolding did nothing to cover the cry of 'What the-?!' from down below. Your eyes immediately flew open all the way, sweeping an arm in front of the fire wielder before launching yourself backward, causing the both of you to fall back onto the ledge.

  
"Who threw that?" You could hear Sora call, and could only imagine the three of your friends gazing up at the spot you'd just been in. Axel was in fits of laughter, and, honestly, after watching it hit Sora directly on the back of the head, you couldn't help but let out a small series of giggles as well.

  
Once calm, you sat up, rubbing your sore ribs, a smile still on your face. "Alright, time's up. Maybe you'll get to kill me next time we meet," you jested with a wink. Axel's smirk played along the side of his face.

  
"You know, we really only need to capture you and play some mind games with you- unless you're so hell-bent on dying. Let me know if that's the case- we could use another good Nobody on our side." Before you could question him, Axel summoned a portal around him, disappearing quickly. He watched you vanish as the darkness overtook him- he watched the person who could make a Nobody like him feel anything, let alone feel happy.

  
Alone again, you figured your thirty minutes were over by now. You looked at the stairs and let out a long, heaving sigh. At least they were downhill.

  
\---

  
Once you reached the bottom, you were clutching your lower back but joined up with your friends regardless. "Hey, (y/n), where were you?" Riku asked, catching sight of you first. You grinned and waved, walking over as fast as your arching limbs would carry you.

  
"Exploring the top of the clock tower," you smiled. Sora's eyes widened his finger pointing at you.

  
"It was you who threw the stick at me!' The color drained from your face. Oh, sh-

  
"Uh.....isn't it time to see Yen Sid anyway how dow e get there the weather is so BEAUTIFUL here I hope it's pretty there too Kairi how was your snack?" you let out on one breath of air, avoiding the question altogether. Kairi only laughed, shaking her head.

  
"She's right, Sora. You can plan your revenge on the way." Sora squinted at you softly, dropping his finger finally.

  
"...Yeah." He instead pointed to the door just above the small set of steps, which looked like it led to a train station. "We gotta go that way to get to Yen Sid's."

  
You groaned loudly, wiping your face. "I never wanna see another stair again!" you complained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI I'VE RETURNED FROM RETAIL HELL!!!!! The Holiday season literally killed any motivation I had to write but seeing Vanitas in the new trailer literally rebirthed me, fixed my debt, hydrated my skin, and bought me a mansion. Please enjoy this chapter and accept my humble apologies for divebombing off the face of the planet for about a quarter of a year.   
> I love you all so much!!  
> -Minnie


	22. Journey's Ahead

Silence ensued inside of the purple passenger train. Sora, still plotting his revenge, sat across from you, rubbing the spot on the back of his head that had been whacked with a nearly weightless wooden stick any time your eyes caught his. Your own (y/e/c) irises rolled so far back you thought you might never see again every time this happened. For the most part, anyway, both you and Kairi had been sitting on your knees, looking out the circular windows for most of the journey. Riku stared out as well, but from a standing position. Why he didn't take every advantage to sit, you'd never know. You supposed it was so that he would look cool 24/7. 

  
For his part, Sora thought he looked super cool all the time- so at least it worked.

  
Buildings flew by in a very relaxing manner, the permanent twilight making you sleepy. "I could live here," you commented, your chin resting on the bottom of the window ledge. Kairi looked over to you, breaking her gaze from the city.

  
"You'd leave the islands?" Her words caused you to look away as well, locking eyes with her as you both sat the right way once more. You nodded, furrowing your eyebrows.

  
"You wouldn't? I just think that now I know all these worlds exist, how could I stay in such a tiny one?" In the distance, Riku's arms crossed and he finally took a seat.

  
"Be careful what you wish for, or how far you'll go to get it." Riku's words silenced the train again, your eyes locking onto his, his own trained on anything but yours. One day, you swore, you'd help him understand he wasn't that fifteen-year-old boy anymore, that he wasn't darkness. He was light.

  
"I'm not from Destiny Islands, anyway," Kairi commented, attempting to lighten up the conversation.

  
"Wait, what?" you questioned, head whipping around to stare at the grinning redhead. She nodded.

  
"Yup, don't remember much about it. I just remember showing up at the mayor's house when I was younger."

  
"That's crazy, I just thought you were from the other side of the island."

  
"Nope, I'm foreign," Kairi laughed, glad she was able to bring the conversation to a better place. You laughed with her, relaxing back into your seat. Slowly, the train came to a smooth but complete stop. Sora woke up from his brief nap to look out the window before breaking into a huge grin and running to the door, throwing it open with glee.

  
"HERE!" he proclaimed, marching out.

  
"Sora, wait!" Kairi called, running after him to make sure he didn't get into trouble alone.

  
"Think we're here? I couldn't tell," you grumbled, slapping the side of your head to get your ears to stop ringing. Riku stood up, stretching.

  
"I don't think we're here, I think we're 'HERE!'," Riku mocked, standing close to you, getting you to duck and cover, slapping both hands over your ears. After getting a good laugh in, he finally exited, looking back to make sure you were following him. Angrily, sure, but still following.

  
No sooner had you stepped off the train than the door had slid shut and the passenger car sped away. You hardly noticed, however, in shock and awe of the tower in front of you. It was now nighttime, and a very starry nighttime at that. The tower was lopsided and didn't look like even the most modern building system could keep it standing. As your group strolled towards the door, your head craned back further, still unable to process the architecture. "Rad," you finally complimented.

  
"Yen Sid's just upstairs," Sora explained, opening the door and ushering everyone inside. You made eye contact with the stairs. Stairs. Upstairs.

  
"Oh I don't think so," you laughed, crossing your arms. "What did I say at the train station? Absolutely not. No way." Your head shook, adamant about your decision. Sora looked at you, paling.

  
"But...I don't think he comes downstairs...I've only seen him stand up like once..."

  
"Well, he's gonna have to make an exception. He doesn't even have an elevator?"

  
"Come on, (y/n), I'll help you," Riku offered, rolling his eyes. "Take my hand." He held his out towards you, causing butterflies to soar in your upper intestines. Was he gonna carry you? You slowly extended your hand to meet his, feeling how cold his grip was, then warmth as your grip tightened. There was no time to overthink things, however. As soon as he gripped onto you, his keyblade was in his hand. "Zero Graviza!" he shouted, pointing it at you.

  
"Wait, wha- WOOOOAAAAAAH WHAT'S HAPPENING WHERE'S THE GROUND?!" you screamed, your feet leaving the marble flooring and your entire body feeling completely weightless. Your grip on Riku's hand turned into a steel death grip as you realized he was the only thing tethering you to the ground.

  
"Now you don't have to walk up the stairs," Riku chuckled, beginning his ascent with you in tow.

  
"BOY IF YOU DON'T PUT ME ON THE GROUND YOU'RE GONNA HAVE AN ISSUE YOU'VE NEVER HAD BEFORE AND IT'S CALLED HOW TO GET A KEYBLADE OUT OF YOUR A-"

  
"Gravity!" Sora's voice rang through the air. Your free hand had already summoned your keyblade to do....something...with and now it clattered onto the ground as you felt the force of a moon shoving you onto the steps. Eventually, you sprang back up, panting and gasping as you pushed yourself into a standing position while everyone erupted into laughter around you. Axel had said they knew magic, he said nothing about them being assholes with it like he was.

  
"Just you wait, grandpa hair, I'll get you back."

  
"I'll start figuring out how to remove a keyblade now, Miss Hollow Threats." Riku patted your back twice before rubbing circles into it as he passed you on the stairs. Ohhh, you had been so serious. If he thinks just a back rub can negate the no warning roller coaster...he was absolutely right for the time being. Frustrated with everyone, you climbed until you reached the top of the stairs. Riku opened the door for you, which you walked through with your nose raised. Inside you found not Yen Sid. Where was he, anyway? One curious step further seemed to summon an onslaught of heartless. Rolling your eyes, you gripped your keyblade menacingly. These assholes were perfect punching bags.

  
\---

  
Twenty floors later, you finally arrived at what seemed to be the final door. Your entire group was huffing and puffing as you braved the final steps. You were clutching your knees, Sora was doubled over with his head resting against the door, Kairi had chosen to just sit down completely, and even Riku was wiping the sweat from his brow, chest heaving heavily. The beginning of your journey had started with just the creepy little wriggly shadows but had quickly evolved into some weird variant that was coated in an armor and much, much harder to kill.

  
You all caught your breath for a moment before the door ahead of you began to creak open, Sora almost losing his balance. Sora walked in first (not because he was already stumbling forward, no, not because of that at all) while you reached down to help Kairi up. "At least it's over," you offered, locking hands with her.

  
"Yeah, until we have to leave," she informed you as she hoisted herself up. You both looked at each other and groaned before entering the room. The man you assumed to be Yen Sid sat at his desk, arms placed in front with his hands interlocked. A hat rose tall above his silvery hair, his beard the most menancing part of all. He stared your motley crew down with piercing eyes that, to be honest, scared you a little.

  
"Sora. Riku. You've returned," Yen Sid stated, nodding in each of their directions.

  
"Yeah, we also brought our friends, Kairi, and (y/n). They can use the keyblade, too." Sora's explanation was brief as he stuck his thumb out at you without looking back. You waved and gave an awkward grin, not really feeling the need to butt your way into the conversation further at this moment.

  
"So, you've come to learn about the wielders of the past."

  
"We need a way to free their souls from the darkness," Riku explained, crossing his arms. You were leaning against the wall, resting your legs as you listened intensely.

  
"It is not so easily done. Each awakening has its own difficult past."

  
"We're ready to do what it takes, sir," Kairi interjected. Everyone agreed with a nod.

  
"Very well," Yen Sid began, closing his eyes for a moment before continuing. "The one you must rescue first is Master Aqua. Too long has she wandered the realm of darkness, unable to find an escape. I'm sure you know the risks associated with returning to the realm of darkness, Riku." Riku nodded once, his jaw set.

  
"No one here knows that place better than I do. If anyone can find her, I can."

  
"That might be true. However, no heart has a greater chance of falling to darkness than one that has once before. Riku, you fight with the balance of light and dark inside you. You've conquered both, and they are a part of who you are. You mustn't lose yourself again." You'd brought your thumb to your mouth, nervously chewing on the nail as you watched the exchange go down. Kairi smacked your hand away from your teeth, saving you from onychophagy. You glanced at her before crossing your arms tightly.

  
"Oh, maybe I'll go instead!" Sora piped up, eager to take any pain away from his friends.

  
"Woah," "I don't know about that," you and Kairi interjected at the same time, your head shaking as Kairi placed a hand on his shoulder.

  
"What? You dont think I could save her?"

  
"I couldn't see you stepping in even a puddle of darkness, So," you elaborated, a tiny grin turning up the corners of your mouth. It was a funny thought, this pure beacon of light meddling in darkness. "They'd kick you out before you even got in." Sora's head fell and you had to stifle a snort.

  
"After I save Master Aqua, what's the next step?" Riku carried on, ready to be done with the subject.

  
"After Aqua has been recovered, she must return to Ventus and awaken him."

  
"Where's he at?" Kairi pondered, cocking her head to the side. Master Yen Sid merely extended his hand, pointing directly to Sora's chest. Heads turned to stare at the spiky brunette. His own eyes widened, finger curling up to point at himself.

  
"Me?"

  
"Ventus's soul resides within you, Sora. Multiple souls have found haven within your light. It is time you returned them.

  
"Them?" you asked.

  
"Multiple? Inside Sora?" Kairi questioned, hand over Sora's heart.

  
"How many kids you got in there?!" Riku spoke in disbelief, eyebrows furrowed.

  
"Hey, I didn't start renting out a heart hotel over here, okay? I didn't ask for them!" Sora looked clearly distraught, his hands folding over Kairi's. "Are they...are they safe in there?"

  
"Your soul is a breeding ground for light. I assure you, they are safer now than they ever were in their mortal lives." You made a look of disgust and turned back to looking at the ground, imagining tons of souls just wriggling around inside of Sora. You were so glad that you weren't the one with a heart the size of an apartment complex.

  
"Okay, enough of that," Sora urged, exceedingly ready for the next topic of conversation. "What about the last guy?"

  
"That information isn't yours to know yet. Rescue the first two and the third will come.

  
"And then we'll get our island back?" you asked, quietly. You just wanted to hold your mom again.

  
"Every sleeping world will return to its awoken state once the darkness has been sealed away eternally," Yen Sid answered, blinking slowly.

  
"Okay, that sounds easy enough," Kairi spoke aloud, placing her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest slightly. "We can do that, right (y/n)? Boys?"

  
"We can do it!" Sora exclaimed.

  
"Hell yeah," you agreed, pushing yourself off the wall.

  
"We always find a way," Riku finalized, relaxing finally.

  
"Then I'll send you to your training. (y/n), Kairi, step forward and grab my hand." You looked over to Kairi before sheepishly walking forward and placing your palm against his, Kairi following suit merely milliseconds later. Yen Sid closed his eyes and you felt a chill running through your body. It was almost an icy-heat, burning within you. You yanked your hand back and clutched it to your chest.

  
"What was that?" you questioned, staring at your phalanges.

  
"You've learned the blizzard spell. Use your magic safely. Allow Phil to train the both of you well. You will need every last drop of strength to win this battle." Magic...you'd really just learned a magic spell. Ohhh...you'd finally really learned magic. A smirk played on your features as you felt your keyblade weigh your hand down. You turned to Riku, readying the new magic word to leave your mouth before you were cut off by Yen Sid. "Riku, do not rely on the darkness too heavily. I gift you with this darkness screen," with a twist of his hand, Riku tensed, then relaxed, as if water had been poured down his back, "to ease your struggle."

  
"Thank you master. Come on, let's get going," Riku spoke, bowing slightly before turning to leave. All three friends followed suit. However, you poked your head back in the door to offer a suggestion.

  
"Um, Mr. Sid, have you ever considered getting an elev--" You were unable to finish your sentence, instead being yanked out the door by your friends.

  
\---

  
The never-ending waning light was shining directly into your eyes as you stepped outside, hand pressed against the glass door you'd just pushed open. You and your group had safely returned to Twilight Town, thighs throbbing after walking back down the million flights of stairs you'd previously climbed to have a brief conversation with Yen Sid. "I wonder when people sleep here," Kairi mused stepping out beside you. You hummed a response, curious yourself as you held the door open for the boys.

  
"Whenever they want to, probably," Riku suggested, shrugging his shoulders, hands placed casually in his front pockets.

  
"I bet that's why they have such a big clock tower! So everyone knows it's time for bed!" Sora chimed in, positive his detective skills were second to none.

  
"Maybe people here just don't sl--" You were cut off by the door you had let go of to let close again slamming back into your foot, causing you to curse and jump back in shock, hand poised to summon your keyblade.

  
"Out of my way, losers, Not everyone has all day to mosy around and take up space, you heard?" the blonde that had rudely shoved his way passed your group sneered. He wore a black beanie, a crop top (it's called fashion, look it up), a duster, and slouchy pants. You were shocked into silence for a moment, dumbstruck that such a character just appeared out of thin air.

  
"Hey, asshole, we get you're a really cool macho dude-bro, we r4eally do, but you can't just go shoving people out of your way because you have an inferiority complex," Riku commented in a monotone voice, crossing his arms as he looked the offending male up and down.

  
"Oh, sorry, snowflake, did I hurt your girlfriend's feelings?"

  
"I'm sorry, who the hell even are you?" you questioned in an amused voice, knowing damn well when you finally get to tell Selphie everything that happened, this guy was getting his own full-page report. You walked down the steps, forming a somewhat-intimidating wall with your friends.

  
"Are you kidding me?" the blonde asked. Clearly, no one responded, giving you a moment to take note of the long scar on his face. Yeesh, he looked to be around your age, and he already had that rough of a scar? Maybe he got it for running his mouth. When no one responded, the heated male rolled his eyes and outstretched one arm. "Seifer. Struggle Champion." You snorted at this, covering your mouth. "What's so funny?"

  
"'Struggle Champion'? Big old mood," you laughed, causing your friends to start giggling and chuckling as well.

  
"Hey! Lamers!" Seifer fought to win your attention back. Lamers?! Two-page report. At the very least. You fought to commit everything about this guy to memory. "Where are you from anyway? I've never seen the likes of you."

  
"Oh, we're from...around town," Kairi explained. Kind of. Sora's head fell at this lackluster explanation while Riku's turned skyward, pinching the bridge of his nose.   
"All I wanna know is where you bought your shirt because I'd love nothing more than to have it," you deferred the conversation back to the biopic you were internally writing. Seifer, being a man, took this the absolutely wrong way. His lips curled into a smirk, leaning back and crossing his arms.

  
"Why don't you come back with me to my place and I'll let you take it o-"

  
"That's enough Twilight Town for one day, (y/n)," Riku interjected firmly, putting a hand on the small of your back and turning you around. You were holding back such a big laugh that tears were forming at the corners of your eyes. You don't think anyone understood quite how much fun you were having or what you were provoking him for, but you had to bite your fist to hold it all in at the moment.

  
"Don't be mad that your girlfriend wants me, 'dude-bro'," Seifer mocked, using air quotes.

  
"Hey! (y/n)'s not RIku's-" Sora began, ready to defend.

  
"Kairi, let's go. Now." Riku called over his shoulder as he steered you towards where the gummi ship was hidden, eyes rolling. Kairi tugged on Sora's arm, pulling him towards the same area.

  
"Uh, bye....'lamer'?" Kairi posed, unsure if that was just a common word used in this world. As soon as the four of you were out of eye and earshot, you broke down in a hysterical fit of giggles, doubling over.

  
"Was that guy even real?!" you made out through your laughs, tears threatening to spill over the apples of your cheeks, your mouth hurting from smiling so big.  
"(y/n), that could've been bad!" Kairi scolded, walking over and standing you upright.

  
"From that guy?!" you questioned, pointing back to the general area you just left. "Oh, come on, none of you took him seriously, right?"

  
"We're in a strange place, you have to be more careful. You never know what's possible when you're not at home," the redhead continued to reprimand. You sobered up a little, standing up straight and glancing about to see similar serious expressions all around.

  
"Oh, you're serious. I'm...sorry, I guess, I just couldn't believe someone as stupid and outlandish as that could even exist," you explained, hoping someone would see it your way. You did manage to get a tiny laugh from Sora, who shrugged in agreement.

  
"Yeah, he was pretty ridiculous, but you're lucky Riku stepped in when he did. That could've gotten really ugly really fast." Truthfully, you hadn't even considered him a minor threat. You looked to Riku- meeting his icy blue eyes for a moment before he looked to the side. After a moment of awkward silence, the four of you started walking towards the gummi ship again. You fell behind with Riku, wanting to apologize.

  
"I'm sorry if I acted stupidly out there, I was just trying to laugh," you speak, looking at your shoes. Riku exhaled from his nose, shaking his head for a moment. He glanced down at you, his lips forming a line when he saw your worried expression.

  
"Whatever," he began, his tone taking on the playful jaunt he used back on your Islands. Your head lifted quickly, looking up to see him smirking. "We all know you were just egging him on to hear him call you my girlfriend again, huh?" Your mouth dropped for a moment before closing back up in a faux-annoyed smile, punching his shoulder lightly, a pink blush tinting your cheeks.

  
"Shut up," you grumbled, not wanting to make THAT into a recurring joke, it hit too close to home and you couldn't control the annoying pink that tainted your face every time it would be brought up. The four of you all laughed, ready to venture onto the next world. Determined, excited, and hopeful keyblade warriors were ready to set off for their next course: training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we have ALL been waiting for Seifer to be added as a love interest in this story, okay?
> 
> On the real, thank you for leaving me such nice comments and well wishes on my last post. I'm slowly getting better and writing this chapter really helped me find a successful outlet. I feel like my promises are empty at this point, but I promise to write a little bit every day until I have something long enough to post. 
> 
> Also, thank you all for the agreements about how shredded KH1 Riku was and what an unappreciated blessing it was. In today's Ted Talk I want to talk about WHY they haven't let poor Lea change out of his organization cloak and where the hell Demyx is. 
> 
> -Minnie


End file.
